The Cauldron of Cerridwyn
by The Blue Raven
Summary: Sydney finds out she's dying, so she accepts an invitation to go to Ireland to find a Relic that may hold the secret to eternal life.
1. The Cauldron

THE CAULDRON OF CERRIDWYN

by: Blue

Summary: Sydney finds out she's dying, so she accepts an invitation to go to Ireland to find a Relic that may hold the secret to eternal life.

Disclaimer: I don't own them, just wish I did...

Rating: PG-13

Feedback: Yes, please! Feed me, feed me!!!

Note: The Cauldron is a mythological object, that, depending on what tradition you read grants either real wisdom or eternal life. Personally, I prefer the idea that it grants true wisdom, but for the purposes of the story... Cerridwyn is the Gaelic goddess credited with bringing magick to mankind. All of the deities etc. mentioned in this story are drawn from historical sources, as are their relationships to each other. 

Chapter 1 -- The Cauldron 

Karen looked up as the woman entered the office. Her face was plain, but her red hair was shocking, not just because it was so red as to be almost orange, but because there was so much of it there. She smiled when she saw Karen and stepped towards her desk.

"Hello. I'm looking for Professor Fox. Is she in?" Her voice had a strong Irish accent, which at least explained the hair.

"You just missed her. She's in class."

"Oh..." 

"Can I take a message?"

"Yes, if you could tell her that Bridgit Mac Ceallach has called, I would be grateful."

"Sure." Karen grabbed a pen. "Could you spell that?"

"Oh, certainly." She nodded.

Before she could, Nigel Bailey walked into the office. "Bridgit?" he asked with a smile. "Hello, again!"

"Nigel." She smiled and nodded in his direction. "I was just looking for your professor Fox, but I'm told she has class."

Nigel nodded. "Yeah, she does, but if you can wait a while... We could grab lunch or a cup of coffee..."

She shook her head with a regretful smile. "Much as I would like to, I have to get back to work. I've a big order that comes due in a couple of days. If you could just tell the professor that I have called..."

"Again." Nigel smiled. "You know, Bridget, it would be a lot easier on everyone if you just told _me_ what you want to talk to her about."

She smiled, her eyes glinting mischievously. "Ah, but then it would no longer be a secret!" She turned to Karen. "If you could just tell her I called and give her my card..." She felt around in her pocket until she found her wallet and handed Karen a card. "Thank you." She smiled and turned to leave.

"Will you be at work, then?" Nigel asked as she left.

She nodded. "All day, yes. And likely into the evening." She smiled at him. "I'll see you later, Nigel."

He grinned. "I sure hope so."

"Good day. To both of you." She bobbed her head at them and left.

Nigel smiled after her, shaking his head.

"What's she want with Sydney?" Karen asked.

Nigel shrugged. "She won't tell me. I mean, obviously it has to do with some Relic or other, but she won't say anything more than that to me."

"So, she's, like, a friend of yours?"

Nigel shrugged again. "We met a few months ago."

"Really?"

Nigel nodded, missing the curious note in her voice. "Yes, we were attending a reading of some Irish poetry. Fascinating stuff."

"I'll bet." Karen glanced at the business card in her hand. She frowned and read it again. "She's a _blacksmith_?"

Nigel nodded. "Yes, she makes reproductions, primarily of ancient ceremonial and decorative weaponry."

"Cool." 

"Anyway, she's been trying to get in touch with Sydney for a week or more now, but she keeps missing her."

Karen grinned. "And having to deal with you instead?"

Nigel nodded slowly. "Well, yes. Why?"

Karen shook her head. "Oh, no reason."

"Well, then, I'll be at the library if anyone needs me."

"Have fun." Karen shook her head as he left. _Poor Nigel. He just doesn't get it..._

***

"Hey, Syd, how was class?" Karen asked.

Sydney shook her head in disgust and dropped a pile of papers on Nigel's desk. "If I have to listen to one more excuse this week as to why the term-papers aren't getting in on time..." 

"Sorry." Karen smiled sympathetically. "Oh, hey, someone was looking for you."

"Really?" 

"Yeah." Karen found the business card on the desk and handed it to Sydney. "I guess she's some friend of Nigel's. He says that he thinks she wants you to go after some Relic for her."

"Huh." Sydney examined the card for a minute before tucking it into her pocket. "Where is Nigel?"

"Library..." the two women said together.

Sydney nodded. "Dumb question. Thanks, Karen."

"No problem, Syd!" Karen called after her as she left the office.

Sydney quickly crossed the campus and entered the library. One of the students who worked there smiled at her as she entered. "Hi, Doctor Fox. Are you looking for Mister Bailey?"

"Yeah." She nodded.

"I saw him head towards the elevator. I'd try the basement."

"Thanks."

"Your welcomed. Hey, do you have any openings in your class next semester? I know it always fills up fast, and underclassmen have to wait." She rolled her eyes.

"Tell you what, Jamie. Call my office and tell Karen that I said to reserve a slot for you."

"Thanks!"

Sydney smiled. "No problem. Basement?"

"I think so." She nodded.

Sydney grinned at her and started for the elevators. Sure enough, Nigel had occupied one corner of the basement archive, where they stored books that they did not want regular students damaging, and seemed to be reading three books at once. He looked up over his glasses at her approach. "Oh, hello, Syd. How was class?"

"Term-papers were due today."

Nigel winced. "I'm sorry, dumb question."

"How's it going?"

"So-so." Nigel shrugged absently. "Oh, have you been to the office?"

She nodded. "Karen said that a friend of yours was looking for me?"

"Bridget, yes."

"Wants some help finding a Relic?"

"As far as I know, though she seems somewhat reluctant to discuss the specifics with me."

"Huh..." Sydney sat on the one chair that was _not_ covered with books. "You think it's worthwhile?"

He shrugged. "Perhaps. She's certainly being mysterious enough about it to imply some great hidden treasure, but she doesn't really seem like the gold-digger type to me."

Sydney nodded. "Well, it can't hurt to talk to her, can it?"

"I should say not." Nigel smiled slyly at her. "Besides, you look as if you could use a vacation."

Sydney laughed, balled up a piece of scratch paper and threw it at him, shaking her head. She _could_ use a vacation from campus, as a matter of fact, but she could not resist the opportunity to give Nigel a hard time. "Since when has Relic-hunting _ever_ qualified as a vacation?"

"Well, there was that trip we took to recover the urn that allegedly held the _real_ ashes of King Numa."

"A revolution broke out, Nigel!" Sydney laughed.

"Oh, that's right..." He nodded. "So sorry. All I remembered was the Mediterranean sunshine." Well, that and Sydney's bathing suit, but he was not _about_ to mention that.

Sydney shook her head. "If you say so. Where can I get in touch with this... Bridget?"

"Oh, she'll be at her shop all day."

"Shop?"

Nigel nodded. "She makes decorative weapons. It's really fascinating to watch. She refuses to cut corners or use modern methods."

"Anything to get off of this campus. Coming?"

Nigel hesitated for a moment and then nodded. "Yes, I'd like to see her again."

"You were in the office when she came looking for me, Nigel. That makes it less than three hours since you've seen her." Sydney stared at him curiously.

"Really? Seems like longer."

Sydney smiled and shook her head. "Let's go."

"Go where?" a cheerful, Irish voice inquired.

Nigel glanced up in surprise. "Bridget? What are you doing here?"

The smiling redhead leaned out from behind a shelf with a large book in hand. "It's a library, Nigel. I'm reading."

"Oh, of course."

Sydney cleared her throat. "Um, this section is restricted to staff and faculty."

"Really? I'm sorry, I didn't see any signs posted to that effect, and the door was unlocked."

"That's odd..." Sydney muttered. "I must not have closed it all the way."

"Well, no harm done." Bridget smiled and carefully returned the book to its place. "You must be Professor Fox?"

Sydney nodded and extended her hand. "Please, call me Sydney."

Bridget smiled and shook hands. "A pleasure, Sydney. You are quite as lovely as they say, if I may be forgiven the observation."

Sydney smiled at Bridget. She was the kind of young woman whom it was impossible not to like. "Your friend's a very perceptive woman, Nigel."

"Yes, isn't she, though?" Nigel smiled.

Sydney glanced curiously at Nigel. She could not recall having ever seen him smile so much in one day, except from embarrassment. "So, Bridget, you wanted to talk to me about a Relic?"

She nodded placidly. "Shall we walk? It's stuffy down here and I much prefer the fresh air when I can have it."

"I thought you were to be in your shop all day?" Nigel asked.

"I finished early." She smiled.

"Ah." Nigel nodded.

"So, Nigel tells me that you make weapons?" Sydney asked.

She nodded. "Yes. Swords, mostly. Also armour occasionally."

"It must take a lot of strength to forge them the old-fashioned way."

She shrugged. "It takes practice more than strength. It's more about knowing _where_ to hit the metal than it is about how hard you hit it. In my experience, most pieces of metal are just waiting to be turned into something useful. You just have to know how to persuade them." She smiled and started for the door. "Shall we?"

Sydney and Nigel followed as soon as Nigel had gathered up his things. It was a lovely fall afternoon, perfect for walking, so they were by no means the only group outside. Bridget steered them away from the campus common and towards a nearby wood.

"So, let's talk business..." Sydney suggested after a brief silence.

"Ah, yes, business." Bridget nodded. "Have you been to Ireland, ever, Professor?"

"Um, not recently. Why? Is that where your Relic is?"

Bridget smiled and inclined her head slightly. "It's not mine. It belongs to all people." 

"But it _is_ in Ireland?" Nigel asked.

She nodded. "It is. Are either of you familiar with the mythology of the country?"

"Pre or post Christianity?" Sydney asked.

"Pre-Christian." Bridget smiled. "_Considerably_ pre-Christian."

"Well, that rules out a quest for the Holy Grail..." Nigel laughed.

"So it would seem..." Bridget agreed quietly. "What do you know about the pre-Christian religious practices of Ireland?"

"Druids?" Nigel asked.

"Before them, even."

"Um, it was mostly stone-age religions, wasn't it?" Sydney asked.

Bridget nodded.

"Animism, totemism and the like?" Nigel asked.

Bridget nodded again. "Yes. Now, for the 64-dollar question. Who did the Irish believe brought magick to the human race?"

Sydney shrugged.

"Cerridwyn, wasn't it?" Nigel asked softly.

Bridget nodded and smiled. "It most certainly was. Very good, Nigel."

"Well, I read a lot."

"So it would seem." She smiled. "Do you remember the specifics of the story?"

"I'm afraid not. Something about a potion, wasn't it?"

She nodded. "You're very close, Nigel."

"It was the magical cauldron that the potion was brewed in, wasn't it?" Sydney asked, beginning to remember a story she had read years ago.

Bridget nodded. "It was. The Cauldron of Cerridwyn."

"And _that's_ what you want us to go hunting for?" Sydney asked dubiously.

"Indeed it is, Professor. According to legend, it resides in a temple under a lake, and I believe I may have discovered which lake."

"Really?" Sydney considered her. "You want us to go hunting for the actual Cauldron of Cerridwyn? In a temple under a lake?"

Bridget nodded serenely. "I do. See, I recently came into possession of a transcript, written, I believe, by a Druid king, which mentions certain land-marks that allow me to narrow down the location of the lake to a very small geographical area in Ireland."

"I don't know..." Sydney began, shaking her head. It all seemed dreadfully far-fetched to her.

"Is it any less likely than the existence of Blue-Beard's treasure or a magical knife that gives any warrior it cuts the strength of ten men, or an idol to Ganesh that allows a supplicant to see visions of the god?"

"She has a point, Syd."

"I'll have to think about it." was as close as Sydney came to making a commitment.

"Of course, I'll be more than glad to cover all of your expenses and pay whatever fee you request." Bridget smiled. "Within reason."

"Why, though?" Sydney asked. "What could you possibly want with the Cauldron?"

"Perhaps to bring magic back to mankind?" Bridget shrugged. "I'll leave you to consider my offer. You have my number. Good day to you both." Bridget smiled and bowed her head respectfully before turning and leaving them alone.

They stared after her in silence for several minutes, each lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Sydney spoke.

"Nigel?" 

"Yes, Syd?"

"Why is it that your friend has almost managed to persuade me in spite of myself?"

Nigel shrugged. "She has that effect on people."

"Hmm." Sydney frowned. "Have you seen the manuscript in question?"

"No."

"I want you to check it out. If it proves legitimate, I might say yes to her."

Nigel smiled at her. "Ireland is a lovely place."

Sydney smiled faintly. "Yes, it is."

"I think I'll drop by this afternoon. I have some free time."

Sydney nodded. "That's fine, Nigel."

"Do you want to come?"

She shook her head. "I can't. I have some things to do. Besides, that's really more your department."

***

"Knock, knock, Bridget. Is anyone home?" Nigel called, letting himself into her shop.

"I'm in the back, Nigel!" Bridget called. "Come in."

"Coming." Nigel stopped to examine a row of swords on a long table. There were ten in all, almost identical, done in the medieval Spanish style. She had even decorated the blades with traditional patterning.

"Well, what do you think?" she asked, emerging from a door in the back of the shop, wearing a heavy, leather apron, and covered with soot, but smiling as always.

"They're lovely. I'd almost think them genuine if I didn't know better."

Bridget smiled, pleased. "High praise, coming from one such as yourself."

Nigel smiled and reached for one of the swords. He paused. "Oh, may I?"

"Certainly." Bridget nodded and waited patiently as he lifted the sword in his hands and examined it closely.

"It's lighter than I would have thought."

"Mark of a good blade. Light but durable." She smiled quizzically at him, leaning into his line of sight. "Did you come just to check the quality of my work?"

"Oh, no." Nigel shook his head swiftly and replaced the blade in its place on the table. "Sydney sent me, actually. She wants me to authenticate your manuscript."

"Fair enough. This way." 

Bridget led him through the shop-front and through the door she had ducked out of and into her forge, which, Nigel observed, did indeed resemble one from medieval times. Except for the CD player and the small television. She unlocked a door which led to a staircase, which she led him up.

"You live over your shop, then?"

"Yes. It's more convenient. Sometimes I get the urge to work at three in the morning. This way I can." She smiled and pulled off her apron and shoes before ducking through the door at the top of the stairs. "Come in, Nigel. Get comfortable and I'll get the transcript."

"Thank you, Bridget." Nigel smiled and sat on the large couch in front of a massive fireplace. The room resembled nothing more than a rustic and homey log cabin. It was, in his mind, enchanting. "You have a lovely home!" he called.

"Why, thank you, Nigel." Bridget deposited a cloth-wrapped bundle in front of him. She had managed to remove most of the soot from her face and hands in a surprisingly short span. "Can I offer you a cup of tea, Nigel?"

"No, thank you. I'm fine."

"Suit yourself." Bridget smiled and sat down next to him. "Do you, in fact, read Gaelic?" she asked curiously.

"A small amount." Nigel shrugged. "Enough. Besides, I'm more interested in the writing style and the material used than I am in the wording. Where my translation is... fuzzy, you can help."

"Gladly." Bridget smiled at him and unwrapped the transcript. "I know I don't have to warn you to be careful."

Nigel smiled and nodded. "No fear, Bridget. I'll treat it as if it were my own." He reached out and gently turned the first page. "Could I get ink and paper samples?"

Bridget winced, but slowly nodded. "_Small_ ones."

Nigel smiled and nodded reassuringly. "Well, the lettering certainly looks authentic."

Bridget nodded but pointed out, "Anyone can fake lettering."

Nigel blinked in surprise. "So they can. _You_ for instance?"

Bridget nodded, unabashed. "Of course. But, that was written by a right-handed person."

Nigel smiled and nodded. "You wouldn't be ambidextrous?"

"I might be." Bridget smiled at him. "Look, you go ahead and take your samples, and I'll make a pot of tea." She rose and left through a small door.

Nigel, who suspected that, as much as anything, Bridget did not want to watch him mangle her transcript, smiled as she left. He was, of course, always meticulously careful with antiquities, and this book was no exception. By the time Bridget had returned with a tray of tea, he had finished collecting his samples. She set the tray on the coffee table and handed Nigel a cup. 

"Honey? Lemon?"

Nigel smiled and nodded. "Please." He took a small sip and stopped in surprise. "There's no tea in this tea..."

Bridget smiled and shook her head. "Just chamomile and jasmine and some lavender for spiciness. I don't trust real tea, except for facials."

"Well, it is remarkable. Quite lovely, actually." Nigel smiled and placed his cup down. "Let's have a look at this transcript, shall we?"

Bridget nodded. "If you'd like."

Nigel bent over the transcript. "Where did you come by this?"

"An Italian antique-dealer."

"_Italian_?" He looked up at her in surprise.

She nodded. "We assume that it was removed from Ireland after the Emperor Tiberius Claudius invaded."

Nigel nodded. That made perfect sense. He bent over the transcript again and began translating. The first few words were obscured by age-spots, but the rest was quite legible. "It's really been wonderfully preserved, hasn't it?"

Bridget nodded. "Fortunately, yes. Can you translate it?"

He nodded. "'...Ancient knowledge can to me from my father from his father and his father before him for a hundred generations.'" He considered this. "That makes it... what, two or three thousand years at least?"

She nodded. "At least. Assuming that it was new when it was removed to Rome."

Nigel skimmed over it, occasionally muttering words in Gaelic or translating them into English for a good twenty minutes before he paused. "'Beneath the holy lough, but above the earth'? How can that be, Bridget? Did I mistranslate?"

"No. You're doing fine. Read on."

Nigel did, until he came to a word that he did not know. "What's this one?"

"Mountain. Mountain range, actually."

"Ah, of course." Nigel nodded. "So the temple lies under a lake in this mountain range?"

She nodded. "Yes. They're now called the Blue Stack Mountains."

Nigel nodded and wrote that down. "That explains this earlier passage about it being beneath the lake but above the ground."

Bridget nodded. "Exactly. Now, there are hundreds of lakes in the mountain-range, but by looking at the other geographical clues mentioned, I can narrow it down to one that's not even on the maps."

"If it's not on the maps, how do you know it's there?"

"I've been there."

"Oh." Nigel nodded. "I see."

Bridget rose and walked to her bookshelf. She pulled down a large and detailed map of Ireland and carried it over to the table. She unfolded it and pointed to a spot circled in red. "Right here. I was quite a young girl when I first found my way to the lake. It's small, but there are several very promising caves all around it. I've no doubt that one of those caves leads directly under the lake and to the Cauldron."

Nigel nodded and glanced at the transcript again. Bridget had marked all of the locations mentioned in the transcript, along with notes as to distance and altitude. She had done her homework.

"Bridget, this is... really fascinating."

"Why thank you, Nigel." She smiled at him. "Do you think that Professor Fox will now agree to accompany me?"

"I think it's quite likely. I'll talk to her."

"And analyze the samples?" she asked, grinning.

Nigel nodded. "Of course. Provided that they prove sufficiently ancient, I'd say that there's a good chance that Sydney will agree."

Bridget smiled. "Wonderful news, Nigel. Thank you."

"May I ask a question?"

Bridget nodded and regarded him curiously.

"Why do you want the Cauldron?"

"I have my reasons, Nigel. Better not to ask too many questions about them."

Nigel nodded. "Of course. I'm sorry. But..."

"Yes?"

"What does it _do_?"

"Accounts vary." She smiled. "Some say that it grants true wisdom or absolute knowledge. Others say that it grants eternal life. Still others say that it insures eternal life only after death."

"What do you think?"

"Me?" Bridget grinned at him. "I like the idea that it might bring a little magic into the world."

***

"Sydney, the doctor will see you now."

Sydney rose quickly and followed the nurse to the doctor's office. She waited in front of his desk, tapping her fingers together nervously until the doctor entered.

"Good afternoon, Sydney." He smiled and shook her hand.

"Doctor James." Sydney smiled and sat back down. "So..."

Doctor James sighed. "Sydney... I have the results of your bone-marrow biopsy here." He held up her medical records.

Sydney swallowed hard. His tone of voice said it all. "How serious is it? How long do I have?"

The doctor hesitated. "With aggressive radiation and chemotherapy, you could have as much as nine months or a year."

She nodded. It was, quite honestly, better than she had expected. "Without chemo?"

"Four to six, probably. Maybe less. The problem is that it's just a very aggressive strain of leukemia."

Sydney nodded. He had prepared her for this possibility before the biopsy. "How long will I be able to keep working?"

"It's hard to say. You're already feeling weak, but..."

She held her hand up, cutting him off. "Will I be able to go on any more expeditions?"

"It's hard to say. You really shouldn't be doing strenuous work in your condition."

"What's it going to do, kill me?" Sydney asked bitterly.

"It could hasten the process, yes."

Sydney swallowed hard. "Will I have time to train my replacement at the university?"

"It depends on how long you think something like that would take..."

Sydney sighed. "Nigel's been working with me for more than three years, already. I'll need three months."

"No promises, Sydney, but it's fair to say that you probably have that."

"Probably?" Sydney sighed. "Do you believe in miracles, Doctor?"

"Sydney, there's no use denying what's happening to you..."

"I'm not denying anything." She smiled and shrugged. "Just curious. The odds are very good that I'll be leaving in a few days for an expedition in Ireland."

"Frankly, I'd recommend against it."

"I'll take that advice under consideration, Doctor."

"And go anyway?"

Sydney nodded. "I'm not the kind of person to leave a job unfinished." She rose. "We'll speak again when I return."

Doctor James shook his head as she left. She was, without doubt, one of the most stubborn patients he had ever had. She would do what she wanted, utterly disregarding his advice, and probably work herself to death in the process.


	2. The Beginning

**Chapter 2 -- The Beginning **

"Ready to go?" Sydney asked Nigel, walking into the office. It was 10:00 in the evening on Friday, less than a week after Nigel had authenticated the transcript and she had agreed to go on the Hunt.

"Evening, Sydney! One moment..." Nigel said from behind a stack of papers. 

Sydney had made him grade most of the term-papers, and for once he did not mind the chore. She seemed tired and generally unwell lately, so he had cheerfully taken over that and other of her more unpleasant tasks. She was entitled, he reasoned, since she so seldom let anything at all slow her down.

"Where's Bridgit?" Sydney asked, dropping her bags on the floor and sitting down on Karen's desk.

Nigel spoke without looking up from the paper he was grading, the last one in the stack, thank God. "Oh, she just called. She's on her way. Ah, done!" He placed the term-paper triumphantly on the top of the stack and smiled up at Sydney. "Say, are you still feeling poorly? Perhaps I should call Bridgit and tell her that we're going to have to postpone the Hunt?"

She shook her head quickly and flashed him a reassuring smile. "I'm fine. Just a little worn out. I'll grab a nap on the plane and be fine by the time we arrive in Ireland."

He nodded, watching her carefully. "If you say so. Bridgit says that part of our route is a fair bit off the beaten track. We're going to have to do some backpacking and a bit of mountain-climbing.

"Fun." Sydney rolled her eyes.

"Oh, Syd, you _love_ that sort of thing!" Nigel reminded her with a grin.

Sydney smiled back. "Oh, that's right, I do. I must have forgotten in all the excitement."

Nigel smiled at her and walked over to the desk. "Syd, are you entirely sure that you're going to be able to handle this Hunt? We don't need you getting sick in the middle of the wilderness."

Sydney glanced curiously at him. "Since when do you get to mother-hen me, Nigel? I'm pretty sure that's not in your job description anywhere."

"Then call it friendly concern." Nigel eyed her uncertainly. "I _am _allowed to worry about my friends when they're under the weather, you know."

She smiled reassuringly and patted his shoulder. "Then you can stop worrying. I dropped by the doctor today and he said I'm getting better. I only _look_ like crap." She grinned at him.

Nigel smiled back and nodded. "If you say so, Syd."

"I do. Now where's Bridgit?"

"Right here, Professor Fox." Smiling and lugging a small suitcase, Bridgit walked into the office. "Are we all ready?"

Sydney nodded. "I think so. Nigel?"

He nodded and rose, pulling his suitcase out from under the desk. "Shall I get those for you, Syd?" he asked, picking the larger of the two up without waiting for an answer.

"I'll grab that one..." Bridgit offered, relieving Sydney of the other.

"Guys, there's really no need..." Sydney began.

"Nonsense." Bridgit smiled at her. "You are the famous archeologist, we are the porters." She grinned, her eyes twinkling. "I've always wanted to go on an adventure, you know."

"An adventure?" Sydney asked. "In Ireland?"

"Well, it's not Africa or South America, to be sure, but still... You never know." She smiled brightly. "The car's waiting outside to take us to the airport. Shall we?"

***

The flight to Heathrow was mostly empty, and, as soon as he was sure that Sydney was sleeping, Nigel moved to the unoccupied seat next to Bridgit, a few rows down. She put down her magazine and smiled up at him.

"Good evening, Nigel."

"Evening, Bridgit." He smiled at her. "Having a nice flight?"

"I hate flying in these things, Nigel..." she admitted. "It makes me so nervous."

"Well, there's nothing to worry about." Nigel smiled reassuringly and patted her hand. "They're really quite safe. Safer than cars, even."

"That safe?" she asked sardonically. "Last I checked, car accidents are quite a leading cause of death."

Nigel smiled and shook his head. "No need to worry, Bridgit. I promise." 

She smiled and nodded. "Listen to me!" she laughed, shaking her head. "On second thought, _don't_ listen to me."

"Perhaps if we talked about something else it would help take your mind off of things?"

Bridgit nodded. "It very well might. What shall we talk about?"

Nigel shrugged. "Whatever you like."

"I have no preference." She shrugged helplessly. 

"Well, we could talk about the Hunt?" Nigel suggested.

In spite of the fact that they had already exhaustively reviewed every aspect of the coming Hunt, she nodded. "Of course. Well, I've reservations at a hotel very near the Airport. No point starting out before we're quite rested. I thought we could stay there for a night and then start out fresh the next morning."

Nigel nodded. "That makes perfect sense. You plan on renting a car?"

She nodded. "A jeep, actually. Which will take us as far as the mountains. Once we're there, though, we'll have to return the jeep and go forward on our own on foot." She hesitated. "Will Professor Fox be able to handle that? She seems... not entirely well."

Nigel started. He had been wondering much the same thing himself, but loyalty to Sydney made him repeat what she had told him when he had brought up the same concern that morning. "She'll be fine. She's just getting over a nasty flu-bug, you see. Exercise is probably the best thing for her, actually."

"The flu?" Bridgit glanced past Nigel to Sydney. "Poor dear. Are you quite sure that she'll be able to handle the hiking in such a condition?"

"She seems to think so, as does her doctor."

Bridgit nodded acceptance of this. "Well, I'll stop by the Chemist's before we leave and stock up."

"That's probably wise anyway..." Nigel said, nodding.

She nodded. "I already have an extensive first-aid kit packed away, but it's mostly for accidents and injuries. Now that I think about it, though, no expedition through the mountains is quite complete without sore muscles and the sniffles."

Nigel smiled. "I'd wager that she'll be healthier than either of us before we're done in the mountains."

Bridgit smiled right back. "I dare say you could be right about that, Nigel."

Nigel opened his mouth to respond and yawned instead. "Oh, dreadfully sorry, Bridgit."

She smiled and shook her head. "No need to be. It's late. Get some rest."

"Are you sure?"

She nodded. "I am. I'm feeling a lot better now."

Nigel nodded and rose. He asked a passing flight attendant for a blanket and another pillow as he returned to his seat. When she brought him both, he moved the pillow behind his own head and carefully draped the blanket over Sydney before closing his eyes. Bridgit watched him tuck Sydney in with a faintly approving smile.

***

Sydney awoke with a start as the pilot's voice came over the intercom, informing the passengers that they would shortly be arriving at Heathrow. She rubbed her eyes, absently wondering where the blanket had come from until she saw Nigel sleeping next to her, a slight smile on his boyish face. Smiling, she gently shook his shoulder.

"Wake up, Nigel. We're almost there."

The flight attendants were coming around now, waking passengers and collecting blankets and pillows. Bridgit, Sydney noticed, seemed to be the only person in the section _not_ sleeping. She was looking around nervously and clutching her armrests with white knuckles, despite the fact that there was not the least bit of turbulence. Poor kid. Sydney smiled and shook her head. She noticed that Nigel was still asleep, so she shook him a little harder.

"Huh?" Nigel groaned, opening his eyes and seeing Sydney. He smiled at her. "Hello, Syd..." he muttered, looking around. "Oh. Are we there?"

She nodded. "Yeah, we're about to land."

"Ah. How's Bridgit holding up?"

Sydney nodded in her direction.

"Oh. Poor child. Would you mind if I went and sat by her?"

Sydney grinned. "Why would I mind? Go." She made a shooing gesture with her hands.

"Thanks." Nigel rose and slid into the seat next to Bridgit. "Hi."

"Hey." She smiled gratefully at him and mouthed a silent thanks to Sydney, who grinned and nodded. 

"Are you okay?"

She nodded. "I hate landings. Especially in bad weather."

"Oh, I'm sure if it were bad enough to be a problem the pilot--"

Nigel's voice was cut off as the pilot's voice came once more over the intercom, announcing that the weather could create some turbulence during the landing.

"How did you..." Nigel began, staring.

"It's called the Weather Channel, Nigel." Bridgit smiled. "Travel forecast."

He smiled and patted her hand comfortingly. "Are you going to make it?"

She nodded weakly. "I'll be fine. Once we're on the ground." Her laugh turned into a strangled shriek as the plane bounced. 

Her hands tightened even further around the arm-rest and Nigel found himself fleeting glad that he had not offered her _his_ hand to hold instead. "Hang in there, Bridgit." He covered her hand with his. "You're fine."

She nodded. "I know, I know." She closed her eyes tightly and did not open them again until they had made their rather bumpy landing.

Nigel was glad that she had kept her eyes closed, because, experienced air-traveler that he was, he was as pale as a ghost by the end, too. He hazarded a glance back at Sydney, who was somewhat paler than usual as well. Still, the three of them were better off than the many passengers who had their faces buried in air-sick bags.

"There, now, Bridgit, that wasn't so bad, was it?" he asked, trying to keep his voice light.

"It was awful, but it's over and we're okay." She smiled at him and peeled her fingers off of the armrest. "Sorry to make such a scene, Nigel."

"No, no, that's quite understandable." He smiled reassuringly at her. "So, how long do we have to make our connection?"

"Forty minutes. Time for a quick bite to eat." She smiled and unbuckled her seatbelt. "Shall we?"

He nodded and rose, startled by her swift change in demeanor. 

She noticed his surprise and grinned. "I told you I'd be better once we were on solid ground."

***

The second flight was far more pleasant than the first, and even Bridgit eventually put her head back and closed her eyes. All three were quite well-rested by the time they arrived at the small airport near Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Bridgit made some unpleasant comments about the political situation of the region as they disembarked, but was otherwise cheerful as they checked into their hotel and had breakfast together. She seemed even more cheerful as she pointed out that they would only be in Northern Ireland for a day and a night.

After breakfast, they met in Sydney's hotel-room to go over their travel-plans one more time. 

"Questions?" Bridgit asked when they had finished. "Suggestions?"

Sydney nodded. "Just one."

Bridgit looked up curiously. "Shoot."

"There's absolutely no way to cut down on the amount of time we spend on foot?"

"I'm afraid not." Bridgit smiled apologetically. "There just aren't any roads where we're going. We might be able to rent mountain-bikes, but I'm honestly not sure that's... safe." She shrugged.

Sydney nodded. "Okay, then. We start out first thing in the morning, then?"

Bridgit nodded. "Yes. And it should only take a day to drive to the mountains from here, so we can stay at a hotel again tomorrow night and then set out on foot in the morning."

Sydney nodded. "That sounds good."

Nigel nodded in agreement. "I would say so. Are we all set for supplies?"

"Almost. I want to stop by the Chemist's this afternoon, so if either of you need anything, just let me know. I'm also going to bring my bow so that we're not entirely reliant on pre-packaged food."

"Do you have a hunting license?" Nigel asked.

She nodded. "Of course I do." She rose and gathered up her maps. "If there's nothing else, I'm going to pop off for a while."

"Go ahead..." Sydney said.

"Oh, yes, by all means." Nigel nodded.

"I'll see you at dinner, then." She nodded to them and left, closing the door behind her.

Nigel stared at Sydney who was sitting on her bed. "Syd, I know that you keep saying that you're alright, but are you? Really?"

She nodded. "Of course I am, Nigel..." she sighed. "You've known me long enough to know that I wouldn't put you in danger by dragging you along on a Hunt that I can't handle."

He nodded. "I know, Syd, and I intended no criticism. I'm just worried about you. You do still seem to be doing rather poorly."

She smiled at him. "Nigel, you don't have to worry about me. I'm a big girl, and I can take care of myself."

"I know you can, Syd." He smiled and rose. "You always have before and still managed to take pretty good care of everyone else at the same time. I'm not worried."

She smiled at his confident tone. "Thanks, Nigel."

He shrugged and smiled at her. "You know, it's a fine day and I was thinking of taking a walk. Care to join me?"

Sydney hesitated, then nodded. "I'd like that, Nigel."

***

"Well, I'll see you two bright and early..." Bridgit said cheerfully as they walked to their rooms after dinner. Waving at them, she vanished into her own room.

Nigel and Sydney walked the rest of the way down the hallway to their own rooms, right across from each other, and opened the doors.

"Night, Syd." Nigel grinned and waved as he stepped into the room. He turned and leaned against the door-frame, waiting for Sydney to enter her own room.

Sydney hesitated and turned to face him. "Nigel?" she began uncertainly.

He looked surprised at her indecisive tone. "Yes, Syd?" he asked gently.

Sydney hesitated. "Sleep well, Nigel!" she said quickly, giving him a forced grin and vanishing into her room.

Nigel frowned at that display. As he got ready for bed, he wondered what Sydney had _really_ been about to say to him. It certainly had not been 'sleep well' with the tone of voice she had used. Whatever it had been, she had actually been afraid to say it. He climbed into bed, turning over in his mind what could have had her so unsettled. He determined to ask her about it in the morning and promptly forgot about it.

When Sydney hear Nigel's door close and lock, she silently stole out of her own room and walked down to the hotel bar. She did not, generally speaking, drink much, but she needed to take her mind off of things, for tonight at least. She would have to tell Nigel the truth sooner or later, but, for the second time, she had been unable to bring herself to do so. What could she say? How could she put it in a way that would not hurt him?

"Mind company?" Bridgit asked, sliding into the seat next to Syd. "You look like you could use some."

"Oh, hi." Sydney gave her a weak smile. "I thought you'd be asleep by now. Early morning and everything."

Bridgit shrugged. "Soon. I thought I would have a night-cap first, then I saw you here and thought I'd say hi."

"Oh. Hi."

"You already said that." Bridgit smiled gently. "Are you okay? Want to talk?"

Sydney shook her head. "You wouldn't understand."

"You don't know that..." Bridgit pointed out. 

"Trust me, you have no idea what I'm going through."

Bridgit regarded her thoughtfully. "You're sick and it worries you. It's understandable, but the fact that you, of all people, _are_ worried by it, suggests to me that it's, perhaps, a bit more serious than influenza. You don't expect to recover, do you?"

Sydney stared at her, honestly surprised. "Am I that obvious?"

She shook her head gently and smiled at Sydney. "You aren't."

"Then, how..."

Bridgit shrugged. "Call it a talent. May I ask you a question?"

Sydney, who found herself liking and trusting the girl for no good reason that she could explain nodded. "Sure, why not?"

"You don't strike me as the type of person who would really fear death."

"I'm not." 

"Then why so troubled by what could be your next great adventure?"

"I'm not worried for me." Sydney hesitated, glancing over her shoulder.

"Nigel?" Bridgit asked. "You worry for his sake?"

Sydney nodded. "It's... hard to explain..."

"I think I understand." Bridgit smiled and touched her hand. "You worry about how his life will be once he's alone?"

"Something like that." Sydney nodded and lapsed into silence. There were probably no words for the exact nature of her concern for Nigel, but Bridgit had touched pretty closely to the truth.

"May I ask what's wrong?"

"Leukemia."

"That usually affects children, doesn't it?"

Sydney nodded. "Yeah. I used to think it only hit children until I started feeling bad. Three blood tests later they started nagging me for a bone-marrow sample."

"Is there a cure?"

Sydney shook her head. "Nothing medical."

"But you're a believer in... other than medical cures for illness?"

"Miracles, you mean?" Sydney nodded slowly. "I've seen too much not to be."

"Then, perhaps you need not worry for Nigel as much as you do..." Bridgit suggested softly.

"I've read some of the literature associated with the Cauldron..." Sydney began. "The mythology, I guess I should say. Some of it says that the Cauldron is..."

"'The holy grail of eternal life'?" Bridgit prompted when Sydney seemed unwilling to finish the sentence.

"Nigel says that's not what you think, though."

Bridgit shrugged. "We each of us in this world have our own beliefs. There's nothing to say that they're mutually exclusive."

"I guess not." Sydney stared thoughtfully into space.

"Does he know that you're ill?" Bridgit asked softly.

"Nigel?" She shook her head quickly. "And you can't tell him."

"He will know soon enough. Why make it harder for him by keeping the truth from him?"

"I'm going to tell him." Sydney shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "I am, Bridgit, I just..."

"Haven't figured out how to yet?"

Sydney nodded. "Yeah. I mean, obviously he _is_ going to have to be told, I just want to do it in a way that won't hurt him."

"There's no way not to hurt him at least a little." Bridgit smiled sympathetically. "But better to hurt him less sooner than more later."

Sydney nodded angrily. "I know, I know. It's just so hard..."

"Of course it is. I understand. The way Nigel talks of you, you'd think that he thought you were one of the immortal gods. It won't be easy for him." She sighed. "It can't be easy for _you_."

"It's not, but I'm learning to deal with it."

Bridgit smiled. "And doing a fine job of it from what I've seen. Still..."

Sydney nodded. "Still..." She sighed. "Poor Nigel."

"When two people care for each other, it is never easy to say goodbye."

"No, no it isn't."

Bridgit took her hand and pulled her to her feet. "Get some rest, Sydney. You have a long week ahead."

Sydney nodded and returned to her room. She fell asleep immediately.


	3. The Thrill of the Hunt

**Chapter 3 -- The Thrill of the Hunt**

"It's really rather exciting, isn't it?" Bridgit asked, leaning forward to talk to Nigel in the front seat of the jeep.

Nigel glanced back at her with a smile. "Well, I'm not so sure that I'd go so far as to call it _exciting_..."

Sydney laughed. "Yeah, no one's shooting at us."

Nigel laughed and nodded. "But, it certainly is nice."

"Just nice?" Bridgit shook her head in disgust. "Look around you, Nigel Bailey. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, we are driving through a forest as old as time! It's not nice. It is _perfect_." She ruffled Nigel's hair and reclined in the back of the jeep with a yawn.

Nigel shook his head and picked up the map. "It'll still be a couple of hours before we reach the hotel, Syd. Did you want to stop for lunch?"

Sydney considered this for a moment, then nodded, pulling the jeep to the side of the road. "Not much traffic around here, is there, Bridgit?"

She shook her head and riffled her backpack for their lunch. "Handful of sightseers, but there's really nothing out here that modern man would be interested in." She made a disgusted face. "After all, you can get beauty like this on a calendar. Why take the risk of leaving the house?"

Sydney stared. "Bridgit, I think that's as close to cynicism as I've ever heard you come."

She shrugged. "No one who's seen this land can fail to be awed by it and no one who's walked it can fail to love it. The problem is that people don't _look_ anymore. They don't see the magic of it all."

Sydney helped her unfold the picnic blanket. "Is there magic here, Bridgit?" she asked softly.

Bridgit eyed her thoughtfully. "Aristotle once said 'In all things of nature there is something of the miraculous'. I'm inclined to agree."

"Oh." Sydney nodded slowly as they spread the blanket out on the ground. "Can I ask a personal question?"

"If you care to." Bridgit shrugged. "The worse I can do is not answer." She grinned at Sydney and accepted the picnic-basket from Nigel. "There's a cooler in the back of the jeep with drinks and food, Nigel. Could you grab it for me?"

He nodded and trotted back to the jeep. 

Sydney smiled. "You're good with men."

She shrugged. "I treat men like I treat everyone. With the courtesy and respect they deserve as individuals." She knelt on the ground and began unpacking plates and silverware. "You had a question?"

Sydney nodded. "This may sound like a weird question, but... are you Wicca?"

Bridgit looked up at her with a faintly amused smile. "Am I one of the Wicca?"

Sydney nodded. "Yeah. You don't have to answer if you're uncomfortable. It's just that you seem to have this reverence for nature..."

"It's a logical supposition." Bridgit smiled and nodded. "But, no. I'm not what you would call Wicca. I share many beliefs in common with the Wicca, but my path is somewhat... older." She resumed laying out the plates. "It's a complicated thing. There are many branches of Wicca, as there are of any religion, and there are faiths that are similar to but are not Wicca. I guess you could say I fall into the category. My interests lean more to the prehistoric religions, but I pick and choose."

"Pick and choose?" Nigel repeated, depositing the cooler on the ground. 

She nodded. "It's foolish to conform your beliefs to those of _any_ religion simply because you share many of that religion's views. It's easier to believe what you believe and go from there." She opened the cooler and grinned, holding up a tub of ice cream. "Dessert!"

Sydney grinned. "I like a woman who comes prepared."

"Hope you guys don't mind cookies and cream."

Nigel grinned and shook his head. "Is it still frozen?"

She nodded. "It was basically the consistency of a brick when I bought it this morning, so it should be just about right for eating. _After _we've had a healthy lunch." She reached into the cooler again and began pulling out food. Two thermoses contained chicken soup and tomato soup. She had several different kinds of sandwiches and even a Tupperware container full of baklava in addition to the ice cream.

"I didn't know you liked Greek food..." Nigel said, sniffing the confection appreciatively. He dipped his index finger into the honey-sauce before replacing the lid.

"I don't. Baklava is, I believe Turkish, not Greek. Besides, it is, without doubt, the finest pastry ever invented." She grinned and opened one of the thermoses. "Great! The soup's still hot."

Sydney smiled as Bridgit filled bowls for everyone and distributed the sandwiches. As luck would have it, she seemed to have everyone's favorites. 

"You sure do know how to take care of your employees..." Sydney observed.

"Fellow adventurers, Sydney, fellow adventurers." Grinning, she picked up a piece of toast and dipped it into her tomato soup. "No reason why we can't adventure in style, is there? Who's thirsty? I have iced tea, soda, and water."

After a pleasant lunch, in which they all ate more than they should have, they spent a half-hour sitting on the blanket enjoying the sights sounds of the forest. A small white animal that resembled a cross between a deer and a gazelle walked right up to them and accepted a piece of toast from Bridgit's hand before wandering off.

"Good heavens, Bridgit!" Nigel muttered as it walked off. "I've never seen anything like that."

"It's an eilid, Nigel, a hind, a female red-backed deer."

"Are they all that tame?" Sydney asked.

"It's probably never seen a human before." Bridgit shrugged, then recited, "The clear voice of the red-backed deer/Under the oak tree, high on the summit/Gentle hinds and they so timid/Lying hidden in your well-wooded glen."

"That's lovely." Nigel smiled. "Is it your own?"

She shook her head. "It's translated from a 14th century poem, Dierdre Remembers a Glen. The hinds, they're called 'fairy-cattle'. Some say that they're actually sihd women who can take that form."

"Sihd?" Sydney asked.

"The sihd are the fairy-folk."

"Oh. I don't think I've ever heard that before."

"Sure you have. The word banshee is an anglicized version of the Irish 'bin sihd'."

"Oh." Sydney smiled. "Well, it was a lovely animal, fairy or not."

Bridgit smiled and nodded. She glanced skyward. "We should move on now if we wish to make it to the hotel by night-fall."

***

They passed an uneventful night in the hotel, and, then next morning, set out for the mountains on foot. 

"Do you climb much?" Bridgit asked Sydney and Nigel as they left the foothills for the actual mountain range.

Nigel gave a noncommittal shrug. 

Sydney shook her head at him and nodded to Bridgit. "Yes. I've done a fair amount."

"Good." Bridgit smiled. "Mostly this is just going to be an uphill walk, instead of actual rock-climbing, but I've packed away rock-climbing supplies just in case."

Sydney nodded approvingly. "Always a good idea to think ahead."

Bridgit smiled. "So I've always thought. Your packs aren't too heavy?" she asked them.

"No, no." Nigel shook his head.

"Sydney?"

"I'm fine, Bridgit..." she assured her, smiling. She looked up at the mountain range that dominated their view. "Let's get climbing."

Bridgit nodded and began walking. "This way is best. It's not so direct, but it's easier travel. I've marked out two good camping locations on the map, one about halfway to the site and the other right next to the lake. If that's satisfactory to you?"

Sydney nodded. "It sounds good to me."

"Then let us begin." She gave an excited grin and started up the mountain. In addition to her backpack and bed-role, she carried a bow slung over her shoulder and a quiver of arrows.

"Still think this is an adventure?" Nigel asked, panting after two hours of walking.

"It could be worse." Bridgit cast a backwards glance at Sydney. "Still, we might as well take a rest here. The ground's relatively flat and the flowers smell so pretty."

Nigel shook his head at her continued enthusiasm, but gratefully dropped his pack to the ground before helping Sydney remove her own.

"You guys hungry?" Bridgit asked, holding up a handful of granola bars. "Quick energy." She tossed two bars each to Sydney and Nigel and sat down to nibble on her own.

Nigel sat down next to Bridgit as Sydney began examining the area. "So, you think we'll be able to make it to your camp-sight this evening?"

"Oh, certainly, yes." She nodded. "We're all in relatively good shape, so that shouldn't be a problem, barring unforeseen accidents. And then it's just about a ten-hour walk to the lake itself, so we can camp there and start our exploration the following morning."

He nodded. "That makes sense. You said that you've been to the lake?"

She nodded. "Yes. Several times."

"So you mountain-climb a great deal, then?"

"When I'm near the mountains, yes. Last year I took a month off and hiked the entire Appalachian Trail. That was great fun."

"You go by yourself?"

"Mostly, yes. I'm not dreadfully antisocial, but there's something to be said for occasional solitude. I enjoy being alone in the wilderness."

"But what if you were to get hurt?"

"I'm careful. I don't get hurt."

"I see." Nigel shrugged. "You seem pretty fearless."

"You read the Bible much?"

"What?" Nigel stared at her in confusion. "I thought you weren't Christian."

"I'm not. Doesn't mean I haven't acquainted myself with other religious traditions. Anyway. There's a line in the bible. 'Be not afraid, I walk before you always'." She smiled. "Of course, there are a lot of similar ones, but you get the idea. I don't fear that evil will come to me when I'm in the wilderness, because I have faith in the things I have faith in." She shrugged. "Besides, I don't fear death anyway."

"Oh, come now. Everyone fears death."

"You'd be surprised. You think Sydney fears death? Do you fear death? Really?"

He shrugged and gave an embarrassed smile. "I suppose you have a point, there, Bridgit."

"I usually do." She glanced at the sky again. "We should move on."

Nigel nodded and rose, helping her to her feet. "Syd?" he called.

"Yeah, Nigel?" she asked, walking back into view.

"Ready to go?"

"I think so, yeah." Sydney nodded.

Bridgit smiled and shouldered her pack. "Then off we go. Into the wild blue yonder." Humming, she began walking.

***

"Here we are!" Bridgit announced, coming to a halt on a plateau, in the center of a circle of boulders. "Nice, isn't it?"

Without answering, Nigel knelt in front of one of the boulders, running his hands over it and blowing away dirt. "Sydney, look at this!" he called.

Sydney dropped to her knees next to him. "My God, these carvings must be thousands of years old!"

"Yes." Bridgit nodded and dropped her pack. "They predate the rise of the Druid religion, actually."

"Do you mind if I get some pictures of these?" Nigel asked.

"Feel free. I'm going to go see if I can't scrounge up some firewood while you two do your archeologist thing. Have fun!" With a wave, Bridgit wandered off.

"Let me get my things..." Sydney muttered, opening her pack. "A lot of these carvings are completely unfamiliar to me."

Nigel nodded. "They must be mostly prehistoric, but I've never heard of prehistoric man building so high in the mountains if they can help it."

Sydney nodded. "Maybe it was a sacred sight." She handed him the digital camera. "This one here, I've seen on pictures of the Scara Brae excavations, which probably place them several thousand years before the first Roman invasions."

Nigel nodded eagerly as Sydney began brushing away the dust which mostly obscured the carvings. "Amazing..." he muttered, snapping a few pictures. "Do you think this was a burial ground?"

She shook her head. "I doubt it. At this time they still would have been using burial mounds. The stone circle would represent some other type of sacred site."

He nodded and continued getting pictures. "You know, Syd, even if we don't find the Cauldron, I'd have to say that this trip has already been a success."

She smiled and nodded.

"Excited yet?" Bridgit asked, returning to the circle with an armful of wood.

Nigel nodded eagerly. "Did you know about these carvings?"

"Of course I did. It's part of the reason why I selected this site." She grinned. "I knew you'd enjoy it." She dumped the wood in the center of the circle and picked up her bow. "I'm going to see if I can get us something to eat, okay?"

"Of course. Is it safe to go alone?" Nigel asked.

She rolled her eyes. "The most vicious animal in these parts is the tourist. I'll be fine."

Nigel smiled and shook his head, returning his attention to the carvings. "Syd, this is amazing. Look, you keep working on this boulder, and I'm going to see if I can find carvings on any of the others."

Sydney nodded agreement and resumed the delicate work of removing thousands of years of dust and dirt from the carvings without damaging them. "You think Bridgit will be able to translate these? You said she reads Irish."

"Well, I'm not sure how much such ancient carvings will resemble modern Irish, but there's no harm in asking." 

Sydney and Nigel were so absorbed in their work that they did not even notice that Bridgit had returned to the campsite until they smelled the cooking rabbit.

"Oh, Bridgit, that smells amazing!" Sydney exclaimed, packing up her supplies since it was really getting to dark to continue work. "What did you do to it?"

"Oh, I just added some herbs that I brought along." She shrugged. "So, did you find anything important?"

"It's hard to say, really..." Nigel told her, kneeling next to the roaring fire she had built. "We were hoping that maybe you could translate some of it for us."

"Well, I can try. The rabbit won't be done for a while. Let's see what you've got."

Nigel uploaded several of the pictures from the camera onto his laptop and showed them to Bridgit. "Anything?" Sydney asked.

"Well, it's not Ogham."

"Ogham? That's the druidic writing system?"

She nodded. "This predates that by... oh, a long time. Mostly they're pictographs or patterning, and not proper writing at all. This one, though," she pointed to the screen "that's the pictograph for Cerridwyn. This one probably means well or cauldron."

"So we _are_ on the right track?" Sydney asked.

"So it would seem." Bridgit glanced at the pictures again. "This set tells of yearly death and rebirth of a god, which corresponds with the cycle of the seasons. That mythos survives even today in Wicca and in other pagan religions."

"I noticed that there were thirteen boulders in the circle..." Nigel said slowly. "Any thought on why?"

"Easy. Thirteen months in a year, thirteen societies of Druids, thirteen sacred animals, thirteen pieces of sacred regalia. It was a sacred number to the Druids."

"But... we've already established that these predate the Druids..." Sydney protested.

Bridgit nodded. "And so they do, certainly, however there is no religion on this earth that does not borrow from those religions which have come before." She shrugged and turned the rabbit on its spit. "In fact, even the name that Christians frequently assign to their devil, Beelzebub, is nothing more than a rude reference to the Syrian god Ba'al."

"I don't think Ba'al was Syrian..." Nigel muttered.

Bridgit shrugged. "It hardly matters. Most gods have many names and it hardly matters who worships them or by which name. Throughout time, pagans have recognized this to the point where they accept the worship of other pantheons simply because they are, in fact, actually the same pantheon, just with different names. Jupiter is Zeus and Ra, Diana is Artemis and Selene, and so on down the line. Names are just... names. Random strings of letters that happen to sound nice when put together." She pulled the rabbit from the spit. "Ah, all done. Nigel, could you reach into my pack and pull out a few bottles of water."

"Sure." Nigel walked over to where she had left her pack and opened it.

"Speaking of water," Bridgit added, "there's a very lovely river nearby if either of you wish to have a quick bath. There's a bottle of soap in my pack, too, that's non-toxic and biodegradable, so feel free to have a nice wash after dinner."

***

After a very filling meal and a quick wash, the three laid out their sleeping bags near the fire and climbed in. 

"Aren't the stars beautiful?" Bridgit asked softly.

"Mmm?" Nigel asked sleepily. "Oh, yes, they really are."

"You could almost reach up and touch them..." Sydney observed gently.

Nigel glanced over at her with a smile. She saw him and smiled back before looking back up at the stars. Nigel smiled and closed his eyes.

"You know, this has to be the most restful Relic Hunt I've ever been on. Or, at least, since I met Syd."

"Nigel!" she protested, laughing.

"Sorry, Syd..." he said softly. "But it is nice not to get shot at for once."

Bridgit laughed gently. "The Hunt is young still."

Sydney smiled. "Yeah, Nigel. Just give it time."

Grinning, Nigel shook his head. "Good-night, ladies."

"Night, Nigel. Night, Bridgit."

"Sleep well, both."


	4. The Holy Lough

**Chapter 4 -- The Holy Lough (that's a lake)**

"Morning, Nigel!" Bridget called cheerfully as Nigel sat on a rock next to the river trying to shave. "Can I come over? Are you dressed?"

"Go ahead, Bridgit..." Nigel replied distractedly. "I'm just shaving."

"So you are." Grinning, Bridgit walked around a pile of boulders and approached Nigel who was sitting on a low rock and looking at his reflection in the river. "You know, that's easier with a mirror."

Nigel nodded ruefully. "I know, but mine shifted in the pack yesterday and got broken."

"Oh." Bridgit knelt in front of him and extended her hand. "Give."

"Bridgit, that's really not necessary."

"Nonsense. You're no use to me if you cut your throat. Indulge me."

Shaking his head, Nigel handed her the disposable razor. "Where's Syd."

"Still sleeping. I saw no point in waking her until breakfast is done." As she spoke, Bridgit began carefully scraping away Nigel's scruffy growth of facial-hair. 

"What is for breakfast?" Nigel asked, trying to make small talk. He felt awkward letting a casual acquaintance shave his face. He had always felt that something like that was really better reserved for a more _intimate_ friend.

"Omelets. Just don't ask where I got the eggs."

Nigel stared uncertainly. "Um, okay..."

"There. All done. Wasn't that easier?" Bridgit handed him back the razor. 

"I suppose so, yes." Nigel nodded and splashed a handful of water on his face. "Have you had your bath yet?"

She nodded. "Before you got up."

"Oh. You don't sleep much, do you?"

"No. Not really." Bridgit shrugged. "Well, it'll be about ten minutes until breakfast's ready, so you can do... whatever else you need to do and I'll be at the camp."

"Oh, I'm all done here..." Nigel assured her, rising and picking up his shaving kit and the clothes he had been wearing the night before and following her back to the camp. He stepped around Sydney, who was still sleeping soundly and crouched next to Bridgit in front of the fire. "Smells good."

She smiled and nodded. "Should be. There's something about getting your food from the land that really does make it taste better." 

"I've always thought so." Nigel nodded.

"Sleep well?" Bridgit inquired, placing a pot of water over the fire.

"Oh, yes. Very well, all things considered." Nigel smiled. "I thought that the ground would be far too rocky to get a really restful night sleep, but I did manage quite well." He cast a backwards glance at Sydney, smiling. "Although, not as well, it would seem, as Syd."

Bridgit smiled and nodded, scooping a few spoons-full of coffee grounds into the now-boiling water. "She obviously needed her sleep. We have a long walk today, but we should be at the lake by nightfall."

"And it's really on none of the maps?"

She shook her head.

"Well, that gives you the privilege of naming it, then." Nigel smiled. "Lake Bridgit."

Bridgit shook her head. "Lake Cerridwyn. Or maybe just 'the holy lough'. I think I prefer that." She reached into her pack and began pulling out plates and cups. "Wake Professor Fox, will you?"

Nigel nodded and walked over to Sydney in her sleeping bag. He knelt next to her and gave her shoulder a gentle shake. "Syd?"

"Hmm?" Sydney asked tiredly without opening her eyes.

"Breakfast's almost ready, Syd."

"Go away, Nigel. I don't have class until noon."

Nigel gave a bemused smile an tried again. "Syd, come on. We won't make it to the temple by nightfall if you don't get up soon."

Sydney slowly opened her eyes and looked around. "Oh..." Yawning, she sat up.

"Morning, Professor Fox!" Bridgit called over her shoulder. "You just have time for a quick dip in the river before the coffee's done."

"Thanks." Sydney rose and rummaged through her bag for a change of clothing before vanishing in the direction of the river.

Bridgit watched her go and shook her head in disgust.

"What?" Nigel asked defensively.

"She even looks good first thing in the morning." She shook her head again. "It's not right, Nigel."

Nigel smiled. "Syd _always_ looks good."

"So I'm noticing." Bridgit smiled at Nigel. "Of course, a great part of beauty resides in the eyes that see it."

"What do you mean?" Nigel asked, rolling up Sydney's sleeping bag.

"I suspect that, to some people, Professor Fox would look beautiful no matter how she looked." Bridgit grinned at him and poured two mugs of coffee. She handed one to Nigel and picked the other one up. "Make sure breakfast doesn't burn. I'm going to bring this to Sydney."

Nigel nodded and crouched in front of the skillet where an enormous omelet was producing several truly wonderful smells. "What a curious thing to say..." he muttered after Bridgit had left. 

_To some people, Professor Fox would look beautiful no matter how she looked_. Was 'some people' meant to refer to him? He supposed it must be, but when he looked at Sydney, he was looking at a lot more than her physical appearance. How could anyone fail to see that there was much more to Sydney Fox than her looks? He shook his head and sipped his coffee.

"Coffee, Professor Fox?" Bridgit asked softly, approaching Sydney where she stood in the river, scrubbing.

"Oh, thanks, Bridgit." Sydney smiled at her. "Is breakfast done already?" 

"A few more minutes. I thought you might like your coffee first. I know some people can't do without it." She smiled and set the coffee on a rock within easy reach of Sydney, then turned back towards the camp.

"Bridgit?" Sydney called before she could leave.

"Yes, Professor?" Bridgit turned back, looking at Sydney curiously.

"Have you ever considered going into Ancient Studies?"

Bridgit gave a self-deprecating shrug. "Oh, I don't think I'd be very good at something like that."

"Don't be silly. Nigel tells me that you have an enviable command of ancient Gaelic. I mean, you discovered that transcript, recognized it for what it was, translated it, and launched an expedition based on it when most people would have considered it a joke."

"That just makes me stubborn, Professor. I lack the patience and the detachment necessary to be a good scholar. I'm happy with what I do now."

"Blacksmithing?" Sydney asked.

"Well, not just that, you know. It's hard to make a living at just that. I'm also a registered midwife and herbal healer."

"You're a midwife, too?"

Bridgit nodded. "Yes. It's... rewarding."

"I'm sure it must be." Sydney smiled at her. "It's an interesting combination, Bridgit. Blacksmith and medicine."

Bridgit shrugged uncomfortably. "Well, they do have something in common."

"I'm sure they do." Sydney finished her bath and climbed out of the river, picking up a towel. "And I'm sure you're very good at both."

"Well, I do my best." She shrugged again. "You should always do your very best at anything you undertake."

"I agree totally." Sydney smiled. "It's a good philosophy to have."

Bridgit smiled and nodded. "I think so. It's hard to be disappointed in yourself when you know you've done your very best."

"It can still happen..." Sydney said softly.

"But it should not." Bridgit smiled sadly at her. "When you've spent your whole life doing the very best you know how to do, the only thing you should be able to regret is that you didn't know any better."

"That can be a big regret, though."

"We should hurry. The food will be done soon."

Sydney nodded and shrugged on her clothes. She picked up her mug of coffee and followed Bridgit back to the camp. "Oh, smells great!" she announced.

***

"Are we there yet?" Sydney grunted, glancing at her watch. It was eight in the evening, local time. They had been on the road for almost twelve hours. Bridgit had proven relentless about getting them to the lake by nightfall, so there had been far fewer breaks today than the day before.

"Over this rise..." Bridgit assured her gently. "Then we can pitch camp and start searching the caves tomorrow."

They lapsed into silence until they reached the lake. As Sydney set up camp, Nigel and Bridgit went off in search of firewood.

"What will you do if we don't find it?" Nigel asked softly.

"We will find it." When she spoke, it sounded more like a statement of fact than anything else. There was no hope or trepidation in her voice, only certainty.

"But supposing that we don't?" Nigel persisted.

She shrugged. "Then we go home and get on with our lives."

"As simply as all that?" Nigel asked.

She nodded. "Why not? Finding the Cauldron isn't likely to change anything for either of us, you know, Nigel." She bent over and picked up a handful of branches that had fallen to the ground.

"What will you name the lake?"

"I won't. I'll let you and Professor Fox settle on something." Bridgit turned and walked back in the direction of the camp. 

Nigel stared after her in obvious confusion. "But..." he protested helplessly. Shaking his head, he gathered up an armful of the wood and followed her.

"I've already found some likely caves..." Sydney was telling Bridgit by the time he reached the campsite.

Bridgit nodded and set about building a fire. She kept a piece of flint and a pocketknife on her key-chain, giving her the basic materials to make a fire anywhere that there was wood or vegetation. "We can start the search tomorrow. Or tonight, if you prefer."

"We should probably wait..." Sydney told her. "We want to be at our bests when we search the caves."

Bridgit nodded. "That makes sense. I wonder if the lake is warm enough to swim in?"

"Only one way to find out." Sydney walked over to the lake, bent down, and dipped her hand into the water. "That's odd..." she muttered, repeating the motion.

"What's odd, Syd?" Nigel asked, walking up to her. He glanced at Bridgit who was still absorbed in getting her flint to spark.

"The water. It's warm. Feel."

Frowning, Nigel bent over and scooped up a handful of water. Not only was it not cold, it was warmer than the air around them. "There must be a geothermal vent beneath the lake."

Having managed to start the fire, Bridgit joined them. "That corresponds with the text. The Arch-Druid speaks of the holy lough giving off steam in the coldest months of winter, and of it being unusually warm all year long."

"Actually, the whole area's unusually warm for its altitude..." Sydney observed, looking around. "Nigel must be right about those geothermal vents."

Bridgit smiled and nodded. "We probably won't even need the fire, except for cooking." She looked across the lake. The moon was almost full and reflected off of its still, black surface as an enormous disk of silver. "Isn't it beautiful?"

Nigel nodded, quietly awed by the sight. "It really is, Bridgit. I can see where your Druid would have felt that this place was holy."

Sydney smiled and nodded. "I can see where Cerridwyn would have picked it for her temple."

"It almost feels like coming home for some reason..." Nigel muttered.

Sydney stared at him for a minute, surprised, then nodded. "That's exactly what it feels like, Nigel."

They spent several minutes staring at the dark lake in a silence that was almost reverential in nature. Bridgit broke the silence first, suggesting a nice moonlit swim before they ate. Everyone agreed that this was a wonderful idea, and they spent several hours splashing around in the lake before eating a quickly prepared meal and climbing into their sleeping bags.

***

Nigel woke with a slight start at the sound of a raven cawing. He sat of up and looked around curiously. Bridgit was already up, kneeling before the lake which looked no less beautiful with the sun shining off of it than it had with the moon shining off of it. He watched her for several minutes, wondering what she was doing before it occurred to him that she must be praying. Reluctant to disturb her, he rose and quietly stirred up the fire. The raven that had woken him up was sitting on the ground, less than five feet away, watching him curiously. Nigel wondered if it had ever seen a human before. The thought that it probably had not was an appealing one. He watched it watching him with a smile.

"Good morning, Nigel." Smiling, Bridgit walked to the fire, carrying a large fish. She glanced at the raven. "What do you want?" she asked, smiling. "There's no food for you here. Go to where I gutted the fish." She pointed in the direction of the lake. "Leave Nigel alone."

The raven cawed at her and flapped down to the lake.

Nigel started curiously at her. "That was interesting."

"He's probably never seen a human before." Bridgit placed the fish on the ground and reached into her pack, pulling out a plastic bag full of smaller bags stuffed with herbs.

"I meant the way that it seemed to know what you were saying."

"Oh, that." Bridgit shrugged and began preparing the fish to cook. "They're smart animals. He probably smelled the fish but didn't want to get closer until I left."

"He didn't seem to mind getting close to me..." Nigel pointed out.

"You have shinnies."

"I beg your pardon?" Nigel asked.

Smiling, Bridgit picked up a fork from the ground in front of Nigel. It was one of many eating utensils that they had left sitting by the fire the night before. "Ravens like shiny things." She grinned at him. "They're like dragons. And people."

Nigel smiled and shook his head. "Ravens are like dragons and people, huh?"

"Why not?" Bridgit smiled. "All three like hoarding shiny things. Of course, ravens don't cook their food like people and dragons."

"I didn't know dragons _could_ cook." Nigel laughed softly.

"Why else would they breathe fire?" Grinning, Bridgit wrapped the fish in several leaves and buried it under a pile of coals.

"Interesting theory." Nigel shook his head.

"Oh, I'm full of them." Bridgit grinned at him and rose. "I'm going to go wash my hands. If you want to take a bath before breakfast, I can wander off."

Nigel considered this, then nodded. "I'd appreciate it."

"Done." Bridgit rinsed her hands off in the lake. "Let Sydney sleep. Breakfast won't be done for an hour or more, and there's no reason to wake her until then."

Nigel nodded agreement and Bridgit turned and vanished into the forest. Smiling, Nigel picked up the bottle of soap and walked to the lake. Taking a warm bath in a lake was an interesting sensation, and Nigel resolved to spend his next vacation somewhere with hot springs, or, at the very least, to get a membership to a health-club with a hot tub. When he had finished his bath, he was reluctant to leave the water. He had swum several laps before noticing that he no longer had the place to himself.

Sydney was sitting on a rock near the shore watching him in amusement. "Morning, Nigel!" she called cheerfully when she saw that he had noticed her.

Nigel blushed and ducked deeper into the lake. "Morning, Sydney!" he called back. "Sleep well?"

"Yeah. Just fine. You?"

"Very well, yes." Nigel nodded uncomfortably.

Sydney's smile broadened. "You aren't going to move from that spot until I leave, are you?"

"Wasn't planning on it, no."

Sydney shook her head and laughed. "Where's Bridgit?"

"She went for a walk." Nigel pointed in the direction that Bridgit had gone.

"Thanks." Grinning and shaking her head, Sydney turned and walked into the woods. Bridgit was not hard to find. She was kneeling in the center of a clearing, picking flowers and quietly singing to herself. She smiled up at Sydney as she entered the clearing. "Good morning, Professor Fox. Did you sleep well?"

Sydney nodded. "Yeah."

"Feeling well?"

Sydney nodded again.

"Good. Flower?" Bridgit held up a light-blue blossom.

"Thanks." Sydney accepted the flower with a bemused smile and sat down across from Bridgit. "So, today's the day?"

"Today's the day..." Bridgit agreed, nodding. "Excited?"

Sydney shrugged. "You?"

"I suppose so. Of course, I have very little to gain one way or the other."

"Whereas I do?" Sydney asked.

"Possibly, yes. You are ill. If the old tales are true, the Cauldron could make you well."

Sydney shrugged again. "You know, they say that everything comes at a price."

"Do they?" Bridgit asked innocently. "I've always heard that the best things in life are free."

"How old are you?" Sydney asked suddenly.

"I beg your pardon?" Bridgit said, looking up.

"How old?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Because I can't tell. Sometimes you act wise like an old woman and sometimes you act innocent like a child."

"Oh. Well, how old do you _think_ I am?"

"I don't know. That's why I asked."

"Well, then, how old do I _look_?"

Sydney shrugged. "Maybe twenty or twenty-one, but you must be older than that."

"You're right." Bridgit returned her attention to the flowers, which she was braiding into a chain.

"About what?" Sydney asked, amused but also a little frustrated.

"What you just said."

"Forget it." Sydney shook her head.

"If you insist." Bridgit smiled at Sydney. "A girl has to have _some_ secrets, you know."

"If you say so." Sydney grinned. "So, which cave are we going to start with? There must be at least a dozen around the lake."

"Eighteen. I think the one nearest our camp-site would be as good a place to start as any." She joined the ends of the flower-chain, forming a circle, and perched it on top of her head like a crown. "Is Nigel still splashing around like a dolphin?"

"He was when I left." Sydney smiled.

"Then perhaps we'd best wait a bit before going back. There's no real hurry, after all."

"That's true." Sydney leaned against a tree and closed her eyes, drinking in the smells and sounds of the clearing. "It's beautiful up here."

"I know. I could stay here forever."

"Well, forever's a long time, but I wouldn't mind spending a long weekend here some time."

Bridgit smiled at Sydney. "You're always so restless, Professor."

"I like to stay busy. Nothing wrong with that."

"If you say so. But sometimes isn't it nicer to just stop and listen?"

"To what?"

Bridgit shrugged. "To whichever of the voices in your head most needs to be heard at a given time."

"I beg your pardon?" Sydney opened her eyes. "Did you just say I should stop and listen to the voices in my head?"

Bridgit nodded serenely. "All joking aside, I've noticed that people don't listen to their internal voices enough. Personally, I think those voices are man's connection to the divine."

"Really?" Sydney asked. "What's yours say?"

"It says 'be happy'."

"That's all?"

"Well, there's more, but that's the gist of it. There's stuff in there about loving and caring for all mankind, too." She shrugged. 

"Makes sense to me." Sydney yawned. "Damn, I've been up for fifteen minutes and I'm ready to fall back to sleep."

"It's the smell of the flowers. It's very relaxing."

Sydney smiled and nodded. There was something so calming about this place. Bridgit was right, a person never wanted to leave. Sitting here, with the sun on her face and the smell of the flowers in her nose and the sounds of birds in her ears, Sydney could feel her own problems drifting away. Her illness, all the things she would never get to do, no longer seemed to matter half as much as enjoying this one moment in time. She could even have sworn that she heard a little voice whispering in her ear that everything was going to be okay. 

She opened her eyes and looked around. "It _is_ relaxing here."

Bridgit nodded. "Yes, it is. But there's a place like this in all of us, too."

Sydney stared at her. She had no idea what prompted her to say what she said next. "You know, the ancient Egyptians believed that the gods would often appear among the people in human form."

"So I've heard. They weren't the only ones, either, were they?"

Sydney shook her head. "No. In fact, it was a fairly common pagan belief."

"The Christians believe something very similar, don't they? That angels appear on earth in human form?"

Sydney nodded again. "Yes. There are several instances in the Bible where angels appear in human form."

"Mostly to bring messages, yes?"

Sydney nodded. "In the case of angels, yes. But in other traditions, where the gods appear in human form, they're usually taking a more active role."

Bridgit smiled. "Do _you_ believe they walk among us?"

"I'm not the person to be asking that question, Bridgit. I'm afraid I'm not very religious."

"No?" Bridgit shrugged. "You know, I can see where that belief came from."

"Really?" Sydney asked.

Bridgit nodded. "There are just some humans who are too much to be believed. They're too smart or too strong or too beautiful, so obviously they _must_ be gods in disguise. In fact," Bridgit smiled slyly, "I can see where an ancient Greek might have mistake you for, say, Artemis."

"_Artemis_?" Sydney laughed.

"Certainly. You're intelligent, strong, talented, independent, and you don't need a man to take care of you. Sounds like her to me, although, you really don't have her temperament. She was not a fun person to get along with."

Sydney laughed.

"Of course," Bridgit went on blithely, "I'd be bitter, too, living in my brother's shadow like that all the time."

Sydney shook her head, still smiling. "That's interesting, Bridgit. You really think I could have passed for Artemis?"

"If you'd tried, certainly." Bridgit grinned. "Until that unfortunate incident with the lightening bolt stopped you, at least."

Sydney laughed. "Lightening bolt, huh?"

Bridgit nodded. "That is the traditional divine response to blasphemy, isn't it?"

Sydney nodded. "Yeah, I suppose it is." She shook her head in amazement. "I really remind you of Artemis?"

"You truly do, yes. Except, as I said, you have a much nicer temperament." She rose. "Breakfast should be done soon. We should go back."

"What god does Nigel remind you of?" Sydney asked, following.

"Oh, that's hard. Apollo, maybe. Intelligent, attractive, and unlucky in love. Or Vulcan. Clever, intelligent, and _really_ unlucky in love." She shrugged. "Honestly, though, I don't think Nigel would make a very good god. He lacks a certain quality of ruthlessness." 

Sydney laughed. "Poor Nigel."

"Poor Nigel indeed. Have you told him yet?"       

"Told him what?" Sydney asked.

"That you're ill."

"Oh." Sydney stopped walking. 

Bridgit paused. "That's a no, is it?"

Sydney nodded. "I don't know _how_ to tell him. Who knows, maybe I won't _have _to."

"You place a lot of hope in the Cauldron, Professor. Maybe more than you realize."

"It would be nice if the Cauldron could cure me, but I'm not holding my breath." Sydney shrugged and walked on.

Bridgit stared after her thoughtfully for a few moments. With a shrug, she followed.


	5. To The Temple

**Chapter 5 -- To The Temple**

"Damnit!" Sydney hissed as her flashlight cut out.

"Problem?" Bridgit asked gently walking over.

"My damned flashlight."

Bridgit took it from her hands and gave it a gentle shake. The bulb sputtered a few times before coming back on. "Here." She handed it back to Sydney and vanished farther into the cave.

Sydney stared after her with a frown for a few seconds before returning her attention to the cave paintings. Nigel stood a few yards away examining another set. "Anything, Nigel?" she asked.

"No, Syd. They just look like random pictures." Nigel frowned and shrugged helplessly. Normally, you would expect cave-paintings to tell some kind of story. These paintings were just there. Their only purpose seemed decorative, which was odd for the era they seemed to come from. Purely decorative art was a fairly new development.

"Guys!" Bridgit called from the alcove she had vanished into. "Come here!"

Sydney and Nigel came running, only to be stopped in their tracks. Bridgit was standing in front of a carved staircase. Thousands of years of neglect had left the stairs broken and uneven, but they had obviously once been perfectly uniform. They vanished deep into the cave, still leading steeply downwards at the point where they were swallowed by the darkness.

"Nigel!" Sydney called, shining her flashlight down the staircase,  "Come here. I think this may be it."

Nigel nodded and hurried back into the front of the cave. He reappeared a few moments later, camera in one hand, flashlight in the other. "How far down do you think they go?" he asked Sydney.

She shook her head. "No idea. What I don't understand is why the temple wouldn't be better hidden."

"What do you mean?" Bridgit asked, staring down the stairs.

"Well, it just doesn't make a lot of sense that it would be in a cave that was easily visible from the outside and so heavily decorated at the mouth that it was obviously special and then that it would be right down a flight of stairs." She frowned. "There are probably traps."

"Why would there be?" Bridgit asked. "You think anyone could find this place if Cerridwyn didn't want them to? The temple's _meant_ to be easy to find. At least, it is for us."

Sydney and Nigel stared at her.

"Do you mean to say that others might not be able to find it so easily?" Nigel asked, frowning.

Bridgit nodded. "That is precisely what I mean, Nigel."

"But... it makes no sense!" he protested. Relics and the places they were kept were _always _well-hidden. It was how they survived for so long. And, of course, the concept of a site being _selectively_ easy to find was absolutely absurd.

"It makes perfect sense." Bridgit smiled at him. "If you only accept the existence of powers greater than yourself."

Nigel sighed and stared at Sydney for support. "Syd?"

She shrugged uncertainly. "Nigel, I don't..." She sighed. "Okay. Well, obviously we need to explore the rest of this level before we do or decide anything else." She looked at Bridgit. "That could take time. A few hours, at least."

Bridgit sighed and nodded. "You're the expert. But can _I_ go and have a look?"

"I don't think that would be wise, Bridgit..." Nigel said softly. "It might not be safe."

She nodded. "Very well, then. I think I need some fresh air, anyway."

"What?" Nigel asked, frowning. He took a deep breath, but the air in the cave seemed fine to him.

"You know. Sixteen percent oxygen, 80 of nitrogen." Bridgit shook her head and walked away.

Nigel stared after her. "You know, that's as close to impatience as I've ever seen her come, Syd."

Sydney shrugged. "She's so close she can taste it, and we tell her she has to wait. That can't be easy for her." She bent down and ran her fingers over the stone stairs. "Nigel, does this look like writing to you?" she asked.

He knelt next to her and shined his flashlight on the carvings, nodding. "Yeah, I think so."

"Can you read it?"

"Some of it. This word is temple. This phrase here warns no one to enter unbidden." He shrugged. "They're probably some kind of magical wards, set up by the people who built the temple."

"To keep out intruders?" Sydney asked, handing him the camera.

He nodded and took the camera, snapping pictures as he spoke. "Although, the message seems to be that if you come with good intentions, no harm will befall you. Which is odd. Most temple-curses are more... equivocal."

She nodded. "Maybe this temple served as a sanctuary of some sort?" she suggested.

He nodded agreement. "It's likely, I think. People would have sought out the priests of Cerridwyn for advice, prayer, healing... oh, all kinds of things. You wouldn't want them to be afraid to enter the temple just because they didn't have a formal invitation."

"Can you translate any more?"

He shook his head. "Not really. Bridgit might be able to."

"Okay. Go find her, then. I'll be looking at those paintings by the mouth."

He nodded and rose. When he found Bridgit, she was kneeling in front of the fire, muttering to herself, too absorbed in what she was saying to notice Nigel's approach. He did not immediately understand what she was saying, and it took him a moment to realize that it was because she was whispering not in English, but in Irish, and in a dialect that bore about as much resemblance to modern Irish as Old English did to the new. He paused, trying to discern what she was saying and to who.

"But is it truly necessary? Do they have to suffer so?" she muttered in obvious frustration. She paused and stared into the fire. "It's not right, damn!" Shaking her head angrily she kicked at the fire, scattering logs everywhere.

Nigel backed away and approached again, calling, "Bridgit?"

She turned around slowly. "Hi, Nigel."

"Is everything okay out here?"

She nodded warily. "Yeah, why?"

"Oh, I thought I heard you talking to someone."

"But we're the only people here..." she pointed out gently, rising. 

"Oh. I just thought I heard... never mind. Say, what happened to the fire?" he asked, gesturing to the scattered logs as though noticing them for the first time.

"Oh, I wasn't feeling very well when I came out. I stumbled and kicked the logs."

"You didn't hurt yourself, did you?" he asked, frowning.

She shook her head. "My boots may never recover, but I'm just fine."

He nodded. "Do you feel up to returning to the cave? We were hoping you could help us translate some writing on the floor near the staircase." 

She nodded and followed him back to the cave. Nigel glanced back once or twice, trying to see if she was, perhaps, carrying a phone or other communication device that she had been talking to someone through. She obviously had not been talking to the fire, even if she had been looking right at it. As Bridgit knelt over the inscription, Nigel caught Sydney by the arm and drew her towards the mouth of the cave, gesturing for her to keep quiet.

"What's going on Nigel?" she whispered as he pulled her out of the cave.

"There's something going on with Bridgit, Syd." Nigel sighed. It sounded foolish even as he said it.

"What kind of 'something', Nigel?" Sydney frowned and lowered her voice, glancing back into the cave.

"She was talking to someone out here while we were in the cave together."

Sydney looked around quickly, reaching for her knife. "Where?"

"By the fire. I didn't actually _see_ anyone, but she _was_ carrying on a conversation. About us, I think."

Sydney frowned thoughtfully. "You're _sure_, Nigel?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I am, Syd."

She sighed and glanced back at the cave to make sure Bridgit was still occupied within. "Do you think we can still trust her, Nigel?" she asked softly.

"I don't know, Syd. I _want_ to trust her, but..."

She nodded. "If she's lying to us, how can we?"

"Exactly." Nigel sighed. 

"Well, I don't see what we can do except keep our eyes opened and watch her closely. I doubt confronting her will do us any good."

Nigel nodded. "We should get back inside before she notices we're gone."

Sydney nodded and they went back into the cave. Nigel immediately returned to his earlier examination of the paintings, and Sydney joined Bridgit.

"Any progress?"

She nodded without looking up. Running her fingers over the inscription, she spoke. "Um, 'pass the threshold not unbidden unless thy need be profound, then enter freely and come in peace'. More or less. This says 'mine is the secret that opens the door', which is only half of a longer quote, and this says 'I give the knowledge of the spirit eternal'. That's all and then the last lines say to enter 'in perfect love and perfect trust'."

"Huh..." Sydney shone her flashlight down the stairs once more. "So, that's the way to the temple?"

"It would seem to be, yes." Bridgit nodded. "I say we go down now."

"The temple will still be there when we're done up here." Sydney smiled reassuringly. "What's the rush?"

"I just want to have this done with."

"But why?"

"Why not? I hate waiting, that's all. Now, either the Cauldron is there or it is not, and either way, messing about up here isn't going to change anything."

"Unless there are traps down there that we can gain insight to by looking at the inscriptions up here."

"Your logic is flawed, Professor. If someone cared enough to protect the temple from outsiders with traps, why would they bother to turn around and reveal those traps to those same outsiders with a written warning?"

"You'd be surprised how often it happens." Sydney rose. "We finish up here first."

"Fine." Bridgit shrugged. "Is there anything else you want me to do?"

"No, not right now." Sydney shook her head. "Unless you want to help me or Nigel to pass the time?"

She nodded slowly. "Tell me what you need."

***

"I told you there would be nothing up here about traps..." Bridgit grumbled as they finally prepared to descend the staircase.

"It was worth the delay..." Nigel reassured her. "You never know, after all, and you can't be too careful."

"Sure you can..." Bridgit muttered in Irish, picking up a coil of rope and passing it to Sydney. "Let's do this, then."

Sydney nodded and secured the rope to a stalagmite, then tied the end around her waist. Another length of rope had already been tied to another stalagmite and thrown down the staircase. "I'll go first, then you, Bridget, with Nigel bringing up the rear."

Bridgit nodded. "I'd leave your knife behind, Professor."

"I beg your pardon?" Sydney asked.

"It says to enter in peace." Bridgit grinned and winked at her. "Wouldn't want the gods misinterpreting your intentions."

Sydney rolled her eyes. "They're gods. I don't think they'll have a problem with that."

"As you say." Bridgit grinned and wrapped her hands around the rope. "Let's off, then."

"Watch your step..." Nigel whispered to her. "This staircase is ancient, and we don't know if it's survived intact."

Looking nervous, she nodded. "Yeah. Got it, Nigel."

"Ready, guys?" Sydney asked, glancing over her shoulder. 

"Yeah, Syd." Nigel nodded. "We're ready."

"Good. Keep your eyes on the ground, and watch where you put your feet." Having said this, Sydney began cautiously down the steps. "Nigel, are you counting?" Sydney asked quietly as she stepped over a loose stone.

"Yeah, Syd. Eighteen so far. Nineteen."

"Watch out for loose stones. You don't want to trip."

"Do you see the bottom yet, Syd?" Nigel asked.

Sydney paused and shone her light down the staircase. "No, not yet. Just more stairs, probably hundreds of them." She began walking again.

"Is it just me," Nigel asked after several minutes, "or is it getting warmer?"

"Yeah, Nigel, I think it is. It would be just our luck to walk into the only active volcano in Ireland..." Sydney muttered, shaking her head. Of course, it was nowhere near _that_ warm, just warmer than the fifty-odd degrees that the upper level of the cave had been. She sighed, starting to get fatigued and frustrated by the fact. "How many steps, Nigel?"

"Two-hundred and seventy-one, Syd. Should we take a rest here?"

She shook her head. "No. We can rest when we get to the bottom. It can't be much farther now."

"Depends on how deep the lake is..." Bridgit contributed, running her hands over the smooth, dry wall. "Did you notice the wall?"

"What about it?" Sydney asked.

"It's dry."

"Hey, you're right..." Sydney frowned.

Nigel shook his head. "A cave directly under a lake should _not_ be dry. The builders must have constructed the stairs in a direction away from the lake to keep the moisture from seeping in..." He stopped. "What direction are we facing?"

"Good luck figuring _that_ out." Sydney handed him her compass. "It hasn't been working since we reached the lake."

"Iron deposits in the mountains?" Nigel asked.

"I guess so." Sydney shrugged. 

Nigel looked over his shoulder and up the stairs. "Yeah, it looks like the staircase has a slight curve to it. It probably spirals around and then under the lake."

"Or maybe the temple isn't under the lake at all..." Sydney suggested.

"Oh, it is." Bridgit nodded confidently.

"How can you be so sure?" Sydney asked.

"It's a holy site. They wouldn't want to build a temple _near_ their holy site if they could possibly build it right on top of the place. Or right under..."

"I think she's right, Syd." Nigel nodded thoughtfully. "And they wouldn't have needed to make the stair-case so steep if they were building it anywhere other than _under_ the lake." He shrugged. "Of course, legend would have it that the gods themselves built the place, so I'm not sure if the normal rationale even applies."

"Well," Bridgit said softly, "if the gods _did_ build it, then there's no reason for it to be anywhere _but_ under the lake. The lake was sacred to Cerridwyn, so it stands that her own temple would be under the lake."

"Why wouldn't she just build a temple with a nice view of the lake?" Sydney asked.

"You can ask her when we reach the temple..." Bridgit suggested. "The stairs probably weren't even added until later, when the upper cave was found by the priests." 

"Well, you may be getting a little ahead of yourself with that supposition, Bridgit..." Nigel suggested gently.

She shrugged, smiling faintly. "If you say so. You're the expert, after all."

"How many steps, Nigel?" Sydney called after several minutes of silence. 

"Five-hundred and ninety-eight, Syd."

Sydney shook her head in disgust. "Are we there yet?" 

"One-thousand was a number that had special meaning to most ancient groups, wasn't it, Syd?" Nigel asked.

Sydney nodded. "Yeah. It usually signified an almost unknowably large amount of something. You think that's the intent with this staircase, Nigel? A thousand stairs?"

He shrugged. "I suppose it's possible. Maybe it's symbolic of having to go to great lengths to contact the goddess, or of eternity itself..."

"Could be, Nigel." She nodded. "Bridgit, it didn't happen to say anywhere in your book how many stairs there were?"

"No, it didn't. There was the passage about packing your good boots..."

"There was?" Nigel asked, surprised.

Sydney shook her head and kept walking. She stopped abruptly as she nearly tripped over a large stone, tied to the end of the rope. "We're out of lead-rope, guys." She shone her light down the staircase. "And no end in sight."

"What now?" Bridgit asked softly. 

"Easy." Sydney untied the rope from her waist and gave it a series of sharp tugs until the tight rope slackened in her hands. After several minutes, she had hauled the other end of the rope into view. "We just start over."

"Without a safety?" Nigel asked softly.

"The lead-rope's going to have to be it." Sydney shrugged.

"What if it's not long enough?" Nigel asked.

"Well, among other things, it'll mean that your theory about the number of stairs was wrong..." Sydney tied the two ropes together. "In which case we very well may be here for eternity." She picked up the stone that she had tied to the end of the lead-rope and secured it to the new end before throwing it down the stairs. When the clattering had stopped, she wrapped her hands tightly around the rope and started down again. "How many stairs, Nigel?"

"Seven-hundred and thirty, Syd..." Nigel sighed. They walked on in silence for a while until Nigel said aloud, "Nine ninety-five..." He stopped abruptly and shone his light down the staircase. "_Syd, stop_!" he shouted, pushing past Bridgit who had flattened herself against the wall at the sound of his shout.

Sydney looked up, startled. She had been almost sleepwalking, not really paying attention to where she was going until Nigel's shout pulled her back into reality. And an awareness of what had made him shout. Her hands tightened spasmodically on the rope as she beheld the black nothingness beneath her. One more step and she would have plunged straight into it without even realizing it. She felt Nigel's hands tighten painfully on her shoulder and upper arm and jerk her back from the brink. They fell into an ungainly pile near Bridgit's feet.

"Oh my God..." Sydney muttered, untangling herself from Nigel, who looked more panicked than she felt, which was pretty panicked.

"Syd, are you okay? Are you hurt?" Nigel asked anxiously, reaching out and tenderly touching her face. He pulled his hand away self-consciously. "Are you okay?" he repeated.

She nodded weakly. Her worst injury seemed to be the bruise that Nigel had inflicted when he had grabbed her arm. "And after I told you guys to watch where you put your feet..." She shook her head. "Are _you_ okay, Nigel?"

He nodded shakily and crawled to the brink. He shone his light down. The stone floor was easily twenty feet below. She might not have been killed in the fall, but her injuries _would_ have been fatal, that far from civilization. He rejoined them several steps away from the gulf. Bridgit smiled gently at him and took a canteen from Sydney's hands, forcing it into his. His throat was dry, so he took a long gulp... and nearly choked on the whiskey that the canteen held instead of water. As he recovered, Sydney retrieved the canteen and took several more sips.

"Thanks, Bridgit..." she muttered, rubbing her forehead.

Bridgit nodded and handed Nigel another canteen. "I'm sorry, Nigel. I thought you heard me tell Sydney that it was whiskey. This one's just water."

Nigel accepted it gratefully. "It's okay. Thanks."

"I think this would be as good a time as any to take that rest..." Bridgit muttered. She climbed several stairs before sprawling and the ground and closing her eyes. She promptly began snoring.

Sydney eyed her in surprise for a minute, helping herself to another sip from the canteen. She approached Nigel and offered him the canteen.

"Thanks, Syd." He accepted it with a weak smile. "Not that we should be drinking on the job..."

"Nigel, I think in this case we can make an exception." Sydney sighed and glanced thoughtfully at him as he handed her the canteen. "Thanks, Nigel."

He shrugged. "It's almost empty..."

Sydney smiled. "No, Nigel, I mean 'thanks for saving my life'." 

"Oh..." He blushed and bowed his head. "Well, you'd have done the same for me. Have, in fact."

Sydney grinned. "'Shucks, ma'am, 't weren't nothing'."

"Well, it wasn't!" Nigel whispered emphatically. "It shouldn't have had to happen at all, you know..." He glanced apologetically at Sydney.

"I know, Nigel, and I'm sorry. I was tired. I wasn't paying attention."

"That's not like you, Syd."

"I haven't been feeling great lately, Nigel, that's all."

"Well, it's not like you to go on a Hunt when you're not up to it, either, Syd."

Sydney bowed her head. "I know, Nigel..."

"Syd..." Nigel reached out and took her chin in his hands, forcing her to look at him. "I am _not_ criticizing you. I'm just worried and I want to know what's wrong." He sighed and dropped his hands. "You usually tell me these things, Syd, without my having to ask."

Sydney smiled sadly at him. "I _want_ to tell you, Nigel, I just _can't_ right now."

Nigel nodded and gave her a reassuring smile. "I'll be here when you're ready, Syd."

Her smile became less sad. "I know you will, Nigel." She glanced at Bridgit who had pulled herself into a little ball and was still snoring softly.

"What do we do now?" Nigel asked.

"Wake Bridgit up, I guess."

"Syd, you know what I mean."

She nodded. "It's only twenty-five or thirty feet down. We can rappel that easily."

"And how do we get back up once we have?"

"There has to be a way up, Nigel. That drop wasn't caused by a rockslide or a cave-in; someone _placed_ it there. But that someone had to be able to get out, as well."

"So, you think we should go on?" Nigel asked.

"It's either that or go back, get rock-climbing equipment, come back up here and start all over. We'd lose a week or more, Nigel!"

"A week isn't that long, Syd..." Nigel pointed out reasonably.

Sydney stared at him for a moment. "Maybe a week doesn't seem like a long time to you, but it does to me. I want to get back home."

"Then we'll just _leave_, Syd."

"_No!_" she hissed, shaking her head. "I'm not walking away from this, Nigel."

"But why?" he protested, confused. "What's so special about this one?"

"If this is for real, it's as big as the Holy Grail, Nigel..." Sydney shook her head.

"And if it's not..."

"Then we've wasted our time. But if we walk away, we'll never know."

Nigel sighed. "If you're sure, Syd."

She nodded. "I am, Nigel."

He sighed and rose. "Fine, but, when we get back, I want you to tell me what's going on with you."

"When we get back, I will..." Sydney promised. "Wake Bridgit."

Nigel nodded and knelt next to the young woman, giving her a gentle shake. "Bridgit, wake up."

She jumped up with a startled yelp at his touch. She glanced around anxiously until she saw him. "Oh, hi." She smiled. "What's up?"

"Can you rappel?"

"I guess so, yeah." She shrugged. "How hard can it be, right?"

Nigel nodded uncomfortably. "Right. Well, you can go between me and Syd so that if anything goes wrong..."

"I'm covered on both sides." She nodded. "Thanks, Nigel."

Sydney was standing on the edge of the cliff. "Which one of us goes first?" she asked Nigel.

"That's up to you, Syd."

She nodded. "I'll go. Give me your pack." 

He handed it to her and she tossed it over the edge. Taking a deep breath, she wrapped her hands around the rope and turned her back to the cliff.

"Syd, you do know what you're doing?" Nigel asked softly, trying to remember if they had ever been forced to rappel down a cliff together.

"Sure I do, Nigel." She nodded and stepped off.

Wincing, Nigel leaned over the edge to watch her descent. She grinned up at him and pushed off from the wall. Her smile faded as she realized that the wall was giving way under the pressure of her foot, causing her to lose what little balance she had. The look on her face as she lost her grip on the rope was one of pure surprise. She did not even look frightened. Nigel and Bridgit both clearly heard the sound of bones breaking as she landed.

"_Sydney_!" Nigel shouted, grabbing onto the rope and sliding down. His hands were raw and bloody from rope-burn when he reached the bottom, and he was fairly sure that he had broken his ankle, but he dropped to the ground next to the unmoving Sydney and felt for a pulse. "Sydney?" he whispered in her ear, doing his best to clean the blood from her face, but only adding to it with the blood pouring from his hands. "Can you hear me, Syd?"

Her eyes fluttered and she looked up at him. "Ouch..." she groaned softly. "What... what happened?" she gasped, trying to sit up.

Nigel gently restrained her. "No, don't move, Syd. You took a little tumble, that's all. You're going to be just fine…"


	6. Cerridwyn

**Chapter 6 -- Cerridwyn**

"She's lost a lot of blood, Nigel..." Bridgit whispered to him, glancing over her shoulder at Sydney who was leaning against a wall, panting. "And I don't like that bump on her head, either."

Nigel nodded weakly and smiled reassuringly at Sydney. "Is anything broken?"

"We both heard the sound when she hit. As close as I can tell, she's got a few broken ribs and maybe her clavicle, too. And... I think she might be bleeding internally."

Nigel closed his eyes and leaned against the wall. "Oh, God..."

"How's the foot?"

"Broken." Nigel shrugged. "That shot you gave me seems to have helped the pain a bit. Can you give Syd something, too?"

She shook her head. "Not without killing her, I can't."

Nigel nodded slowly. "Will she be okay?"

"I'm not sure. We need to get her out of here, and going back the way we came is… _out_."

Nigel nodded and glanced to where the cave narrowed into a tight passage. "So, we go on?"

"Yeah. We have to."

"She can't walk, can she?"

"Well, she _shouldn't_ walk, but I can't carry her and with your ankle..."

"I can carry her." Nigel nodded firmly, as much to convince himself as to convince Bridgit.

Bridgit nodded and approached Sydney. "Professor Fox? We need to get you out of here, okay?"

Sydney opened her eyes and nodded, trying to pull herself to her feet.

"Oh no you don't, Syd!" Nigel said quickly, rushing to her side. "No walking for you. Doctor's orders."

"Then how am I supposed to get out of here?"

"I'm going to have to carry you, Syd."

Sydney laughed weakly and shook her head. "Nigel, you've got a broken ankle."

He gave her a strange smile. "And I'm still in better shape than you." He bent over and scooped her up. 

"Nigel!" Sydney protested, struggling.

"Don't make me drop you, Syd..." Nigel suggested grimly, following Bridgit down the narrow passage.

"Nigel…" Sydney whispered as he walked.

"Yeah?" Nigel asked.

"Nigel, that wall didn't give out under my feet by accident. It was rigged."

He sighed. "I was afraid of that. What should I do?" 

"Nothing until we get out of here. We're not in any shape to fight right now, even if we _are _being set up."

He nodded and kept walking, ignoring the stabbing pains and the audible grating sound that his foot made every time he put weight on it.

"Guys!" Bridgit called from down the corridor. "Come and see!" 

She ran back to join them and followed Nigel, half skipping with excitement. Nigel took a deep breath, wondering if they were walking into a trap. But there was nothing that he could do, even if he had known for a fact that they were. He stopped at the point where the passage fed into an enormous chamber and glanced around in awe. It was like something out of a fairy-tale. It looked as if the walls were made of millions of cut diamonds, closely placed. The weak light from their flashlights was reflected and magnified until the chamber was as brilliantly lit as if they had been under a dozen floodlights.

Sydney glanced around, impressed. "Wow..." she managed.

"This is it." Bridgit smiled and looked around. "Beautiful, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is." Nigel gently rested Sydney on the ground. "How are you holding up?" he asked softly.

"I'll be fine. Document this."

"Sydney..." Nigel protested, shaking his head.

"Come on, Nigel. Don't let me die for nothing."

Nigel shook his head. "You're not going to die, Syd."

"Do you see a way out of here other than the way we came?"

Nigel sighed. "You are_ not _going to die, Syd. Not here, and _not_ like this."

"Hey, you always said that I would die on a Hunt."

"I meant twenty or thirty years down the road!" Nigel protested.

"Get the pictures, Nigel. Please?" Sydney asked weakly.

Nigel sighed and nodded. "Do you want some water?"

She nodded and accepted the canteen he offered her. She tried to raise it to her mouth, but stopped short, wincing in pain.

"Here." Nigel took the canteen and held it to her lips. "Sydney," he whispered, "if I have anything at all to say about it, you _are_ going to get out of this."

She smiled weakly, coughing a little from the water. "I know, Nigel. You're the best assistant I've ever had."

The phrase sounded a little too much like a 'good-bye' to Nigel, so he picked up the camera and started taking photos, never leaving Sydney's side.

"What's that?" he asked finally, pointing to the large, deep pool of water in the middle of the chamber.

Bridgit smiled. "About time you noticed it. That's what we're looking for." 

"That's the Cauldron?" Nigel asked, frowning uncertainly. "Are you sure?"

She nodded. "Cauldron is a mistranslation. The word originally meant 'pool' or 'well'."

Nigel frowned. "Well, then, how are we ever supposed to get it out of here?" he demanded of her, rising.

She looked surprised. "We can't. I only wanted you to _find_ it."

"_Find it?_" He advanced on her, looking furious. "You're telling me that Sydney is about to die for a glorified... _mud puddle_?"

"Nigel, please don't..." Sydney coughed. "She's not... She's…" she stopped, too weak to finish.

Surprised, Nigel returned to Sydney's side. "Hang in there, Syd. We're going to get you out of here."

She shook her head faintly. Her voice was weak. "No. You aren't. Not this time, Nigel..."

"Syd... Don't talk like that." Nigel took her hands in his and stared at her hopefully. "Come on, Syd. You've gotten out of worse than this before."

She smiled sadly. "I know, Nigel, but not this time. I can't... I can't even see any more."

Nigel stared at her in horror. "Oh, Syd..."

"It's okay..." she assured him. "It doesn't even hurt any more, Nigel." She gently caressed his cheek, and then her hand dropped.

"Oh, Syd... No..." Nigel felt for a pulse. "No, Syd... You can't... Come on, Syd." He gently slapped her face. "Wake up, Syd."

Bridgit touched his shoulder. "She's not going to wake up, Nigel."

"_Get off me!_" he shouted, shoving her away. "_This is **your** fault!_" Ignoring her, he pulled Sydney into his arms and began sobbing.

"I know..." she whispered, picking herself up. She retreated to the other end of the chamber, allowing Nigel to be alone with his grief.

Nigel's sobs finally eased and he looked up at Sydney's still face. She looked quiet, peaceful even, and so beautiful. Still crying quietly, he laid her out on the ground and crossed her arms over her chest. He did not know what else to do for her. He picked up one of her hands and kissed it gently before returning it to her chest.

"Sydney..." he whispered. "You were always the brave one, and the strong one, and I... I've always caused more trouble than I've solved, and I... I'm a coward, Syd. It's not my fault; it's just the way I am. But... it should be me lying there right now, Syd, and if I could change places with you, I would. You don't deserve to die like this, and I'm so sorry, Syd. For everything." He bent over and kissed her forehead. "I love you, Syd..." he whispered. "I told you that once before, but this time you know I'm telling the truth." He was crying harder again, but he did not care. "I love you, Syd..." he repeated.

"Nigel..." Bridgit whispered after a few minutes.

He glanced furiously up at her, pulling Sydney's knife from her boot without even really being aware that he had done so. "Just.. tell me why she had to die like this?"

"Nigel..."

"You _knew_ this was going to happen, didn't you?"

"I can't deny it, Nigel." Bridgit knelt next to him and gently extracted the knife from his hand. "And I'm sorry that it had to be this way, but... there was purpose to it all."

Nigel shook his head, angry. "What possible purpose could there be to..."

"Look at the... glorified mud puddle, Nigel. Tell me what the writing around it says."

Nigel stared suspiciously at her. "Is it my turn to die now? Who do you work for?"

"You wouldn't understand. I think Sydney might have had a glimmer before she died, but it's hard for the living to understand some things."

"The living?" Nigel scoffed. "What's that make you?"

Bridgit shrugged helplessly. 

Nigel stared at her for a moment. Something occurred to him very abruptly. "Bridgit was another name for Cerridwyn, wasn't it?"

She nodded, her expression not changing.

"My God."

"No, not yours, my child."

"You're..." Nigel swallowed hard. "Cerridwyn?"

"Cerridwyn, Bridgit... Pick whichever you're most comfortable with."

Nigel shook his head, disbelief warring with a desperate desire to believe this madness, because, if it was true, then Sydney might still be saved. "No, you can't be."

"Why?" She smiled curiously. "We've met once before, you know."

"Have we?" Nigel frowned.

"When you were five, you got separated from your parents in the London Underground. You were terrified. Remember?"

Nigel gaped at her. "How did you..." He had never told _anyone_ about that experience, not even Sydney.

"I was watching over you even then, my child. We _knew_ that you would do great things."

"'We'?" Nigel asked, frowning. He was beginning to feel very much as though he had fallen into the Twilight Zone when he was not paying attention.

She nodded. "I'm not the only power in the universe, Nigel."

"Um, no... of course not." He stared at her helplessly. His sanity had apparently decided to take a short vacation after Sydney's death, because he was actually beginning to believe her.

"So... you and the other Celtic gods have been watching me since I was a child?"

She smiled. "Well, not just the Celtic ones, but yes."

"I see. Why?"

"Because of your association with Professor Fox."

"Sydney? But... I only met her a few years ago."

She shrugged. "Time doesn't mean a lot to us. We've known since before your birth what you would become." She smiled warmly at him. "We were not disappointed."

He blinked. "So, um... exactly... um, that is... How does this work with you, exactly?"

"You mean my association with the others?"

He nodded. 

"Well, to put it in terms that you'll understand, we're the Elohim."

"Elohim? That's... Old Testament, isn't it?"

She nodded. "Do you know what it means?"

He considered. "'They who come from the stars', isn't it?"

"More or less. Do you know who it refers to?"

"Um, in Genesis... originally in Genesis, before the revisionists got their hands on it, Yahweh isn't said to create the world and man, the Elohim is."

She nodded. "Very good."

"So... the Elohim is... _all_ the gods?"

She nodded. "Basically."

"Why..." Nigel took a deep breath. "Why would the Elohim be interested in Syd?"

"Can't _you_ think of an answer to that, my child?"

"Why do you keep calling me that?"

"Because, you are. One of my titles is 'Mother of the Celts', and that includes the Britons."

"Oh." Nigel nodded. "You've really been following me around since I was a child?"

"Well, not _following_, per se. Just... keeping track."

"Oh."

She smiled reassuringly. "Do you remember the time you got lost in the Underground?"

He nodded. "There was a woman... a girl. In a green dress... She spoke to me and told me it would be okay."

Bridgit nodded gravely.

"But, she looked nothing like you!" Nigel protested.

"Do you prefer that form?" As Nigel watch in amazement, the redheaded woman before him became a pretty girl of about sixteen with freckles and black hair. Only her green eyes were the same. "Better?" she asked cheerfully.

"This is not happening."

"Sure it is." She leaned forward and pinched him.

"Ow!"

"See?" she asked, grinning at him. "Hey, I'm a triple goddess. What'd you expect?"

"You have another form as well?" Nigel asked.

She nodded. "Yeah, wise old woman."

"Oh." Nigel nodded slowly.

"Do you remember what I said to you when you got lost?"

He nodded. "You told me I was going to be okay."

"Do you remember the words?"

He shook his head. "Not really. I'm sorry."

"That's okay. They're still with you, I promise. Go to the Cauldron and read the writing."

Nigel approached the pool and knelt next to it. There were words carved into the edge of the pool. 

"Go ahead, Nigel." Bridgit smiled at him and nodded reassuringly.

Nigel slowly translated. "Mine is the secret that opens the door, and Mine is the cup of that wine of life that is the Cauldron of Cerridwyn, that is the holy Grail of Immortality." He looked up at her.

She smiled. "Very good, Nigel. Read the rest."

"Love is the..." He shook his head. "I don't know this word."

"Wellspring, Nigel. Read on." She nodded encouragingly.

"Love is the wellspring. And from this spring all things do flow, and even my Triple Blessing, which is life, and wisdom, and magic herself."

She nodded her approval of his recitation. "And now you know all that you need to know to resolve this situation."

"Is this a test?"

She nodded.

He took a deep breath. "This is the Cauldron. It can bring Syd back."

She nodded again.

"But... there's a catch, isn't there?"

Another mute nod.

Nigel sighed and closed his eyes, thinking. "If it is to bring Syd back, I have to... what? Love her? I already love her, though. Um... I have to _prove_ my love, is that it?"

"Now you understand. Even we are bound by certain rules, Nigel, and in this case proof is required."

"How do I prove it, though?" Nigel asked. "Help me, please."

Bridgit leaned over the water and brushed her fingers against it. The water began boiling and steaming in the pool. Nigel recoiled, startled.

"If you love a person enough, you would give anything for them, Nigel."

Nigel nodded slowly and stared at the pool. "If she's to live, I must die?" he asked slowly.

"You must be willing to make this sacrifice of your own free will, my child, if Professor Fox is to be saved."

He took several deep breaths and nodded. "What do I have to do?"

"Simply carry her into the Cauldron."

"Will she be hurt?"

Bridgit shook her head. "You will suffer, but in taking the pain upon yourself you free her from it. She will come out of the Cauldron unharmed, with the injuries that killed her healed."

"As good as before?" Nigel asked.

"Better, even."

Nigel took another deep breath. "How badly will it hurt?"

"You will be boiled alive. It will be more painful than there are words to describe."

"But Syd will be okay?"

Bridgit nodded. "You may take as much time as you need to decide, Nigel."

"There's nothing to decide." Nigel rose and walked over to where Sydney lay. Bending over, he gently picked her up.

"If you change your mind and try to back out once you have entered the Cauldron, she will be irretrievable, even if you later change your mind again. Do you understand?"

He nodded. "Go in, stay in. No matter how much it hurts. I've got it."

She smiled and kissed his cheek. "Good luck, my child."

"Will... will I see you on... the other side?"

She smiled reassuringly and nodded. "I am there, and many others. It's a wonderful place. You will like it."

"Thank you, Bridgit." He took a final deep breath and walked towards the Cauldron.

"Do you remember now?" she asked.

"Remember?" he asked. He did not slow down because he was afraid of losing his nerve if he did.

"What I said to you when you were five. Do you remember?"

He nodded. "You said, 'You are braver than you can know, Nigel Bailey, and braver than any other will likely ever imagine. May it serve you and those you love well in times of darkness.'" He smiled at her over his shoulder and tightened his grip on Sydney. "Thank you."

She nodded. As he stepped into the Cauldron, she spoke, "You may think yourself a coward, my child, but I do not, and I doubt Professor Fox ever has, either."

Nigel nodded and plunged in, holding Sydney tightly against himself. 

Bridgit had been right. There had not yet been words invented to describe the kind of pain Nigel found himself in as he submersed himself and Sydney. Despite the pain, and the nagging suspicion that it was driving him mad, Nigel never considered, for even a moment, attempting to get out. He just bit his tongue against the scream he felt rising within his chest until he was in too much pain even to scream.

When the darkness came, Nigel was smiling.


	7. Wellspring

**Chapter 7 -- Wellspring**

"You sure he's going to be okay?" Sydney asked Bridgit, frowning. She was kneeling next to Nigel over the now-smooth pool.

Bridgit nodded. "He will, Professor Fox. Right now, he's just exhausted."

"You're not..."

"Human, no." She shook her head and gave Sydney a smile. "I thought I saw that knowledge in you before you died."

Sydney nodded. "I remembered that conversation we had about the gods appearing in human form. I guess it just took massive blood-loss and delirium for me to reach the obvious conclusion."

Bridgit shrugged. 

Shaking her head, Sydney bent over Nigel again, touching his cheek. "Hey, Nigel!" she whispered. "Time to wake up, Nigel!"

He slowly opened his eyes and looked into hers with obvious confusion. "You shouldn't be here, Syd."

"I beg your pardon?"

"You should be alive again."

Sydney shook her head in disgust. "Go back to sleep, Nigel."

"Sleep? Was I..."

"Sleeping." Bridgit smiled at him and touched his forehead. "Wake up now."

He nodded, feeling more alert and began to sit up. He cried out in pain and stopped trying. "I guess that rules out it all being a dream?" he groaned, closing his eyes.

Sydney smiled and nodded. "At least we've got the pictures. If nothing else."

"You've gotten more than that out of this experience, Professor..." Bridgit assured her quietly.

Nigel opened his eyes again at the sound of her voice. "Bridgit? Are you sure I'm not dead? I feel bad enough to be."

"Being dead doesn't hurt, child." Bridgit smiled reassuringly at him.

"So... Sydney and I are both alive?"

Bridgit nodded. "Yes."

"Then I really don't understand. You said..."

"That you had to be _willing_ to sacrifice yourself. I never said anything about actually doing it. I'm a god, not a barbarian."

"Did you just say 'willing to sacrifice yourself'?" Sydney asked, frowning.

"Gee, I think that's my cue to leave." Bridgit rose quickly.

"Wait just one minute!" Sydney protested. "How could you do that to poor Nigel?" 

"For a purpose." Bridgit smiled enigmatically and walked away, through one of the walls.

"What the..." Sydney touched the wall that Bridgit had just vanished through, but it was solid. She shook her head. "That was strange." Shrugging, she sat down next to Nigel. "How are you?"

"Fine, Syd. How are you?"

"I feel better than I've felt in months, actually." Sydney smiled. "Do you think you can walk?"

"Um... I can try." Nigel rose shakily to his feet, but his knees buckled when he tried to walk.

Grinning, Sydney caught him. "I guess it's my turn to carry you, huh?"

Nigel shook his head. "Syd, please don't..."

"Look, we've got the pictures, Bridgit's... _gone_. There's no reason to stay."

"You should rest..." Nigel protested as Sydney slid her arm under his and started towards the tunnel, supporting him.

"I'll rest when we get to the surface."

"It's a long way up, Syd. Are you sure you can handle it?"

She nodded. "Yeah, Nigel, I am." They walked through the tunnel to the cliff. "Um... Nigel?"

Nigel stared at the staircase. There was no cliff anymore, just the staircase, running all the way to the ground as a staircase was supposed to. "I... I don't know, Syd." He shrugged.

Sydney sighed and shrugged. "Let's go."

They quickly ascended. "Um... Syd?" Nigel asked as they reached the upper level of the cave. "Did you notice anything odd about that climb?"

She shrugged. "Not really."

"Like the number of steps, maybe?" Nigel contributed.

Sydney stopped. "There did seem to be a _lot_ fewer than a thousand steps there."

"Ninety-six, in total. I counted."

"That's... interesting."

Nigel nodded. "I guess Bridgit wanted to make it easier for us."

"Yeah, well, if she wanted to make things easier for us, she could have given us our return plane-tickets before she melted into that wall."

"She still had the tickets?" Nigel asked, frowning.

"Yeah." Sydney made a face.

"It's okay. I'm sure if we go to the airport and tell them that we lost our tickets... they have our names in their computer."

Sydney nodded. "You're right, Nigel. Let's get out of here."

He nodded and glanced at his watch. "It definitely feels as if it's been a lot more than nine hours since we started this day."

"Nine hours? Is that all?"

"Yeah."

They walked out of the cave.

"Um... where'd the camp go?" Sydney asked, frowning.

"Well, our things are over there." Nigel pointed.

"Yeah, but all of Bridgit's things are gone, and the fire is gone..."

"Huh... so they are." Nigel shrugged. "Well..."

"Yeah." As they retrieved their things, Sydney sighed again.

"What is it?" Nigel asked.

"She had the _map_, too!"

"Oh, for the love of..." Nigel sighed and sat down. "What do we do now?"

"I don't know." Sydney shook her head and sat down next to him. "I mean, I guess I'm lucky to be alive, but..." she trailed off. "Do you hear that?"

"What?" Nigel shook his head, then paused. "Helicopter?" he asked, frowning.

Sydney nodded. "Sure sounds like it." She pulled out her compass and smiled. "Hey, Nigel, look."

"It's working again!" Nigel exclaimed, smiling.

Sydney smiled quizzically. "Note to self: the presence of gods messes up compass readings." She shrugged. "Who knew?"

Nigel shook his head. "Hey, Syd, look!" 

The helicopter had come into view and was setting down by the lake where the camp had been. 

Sydney stared. "You don't think it's for us?"

A young man emerged from the chopper and answered her question by walking over to them, smiling at Sydney, and asking, "Are you Professor Fox?"

"Yeah, I am." Sydney nodded. "Hi."

"Hello." He grinned at her. "A woman came into our office about two hours ago, said she needed a flight out for two under the name of Professor Fox."

"Bridgit." Sydney smiled. "Pretty, lots of red hair, Irish accent?"

He nodded. "That was the one. Your secretary, I suppose?"

"Something like that."

"Can I get your bags?" he asked.

"Two hours ago?" Nigel asked Sydney, frowning.

She shrugged and shook her head. "Not a clue, Nigel."

When he had finished stowing their things in the helicopter, he reached into his pocket and handed an envelope to Sydney. "She said to give this to you as well."

"What is it?"

He shrugged. "I'm not in a habit of opening private letters, ma'am." Smiling, he helped her into the cockpit.

"Look, Nigel, it's plane tickets."

"And money..." Nigel observed. "And a note?"

She nodded. "It says 'this should cover the balance due to you, helicopter's paid for, car will be waiting to bring you to the airport, sorry for the deception, hope you understand'. Short and to the point."

Nigel nodded and started to climb in. He stopped. "Can you wait one minute?" he asked.

The pilot shrugged and Sydney nodded. Nigel jogged to the shore of the lake and reached into his pocket, pulling out a silver dollar. He closed his eyes and flung it into the lake before returning to the helicopter.

"What was that all about?" Sydney asked curiously as they took off.

"Oh, old superstition." Nigel shrugged. "It was thought that one of the ways you could pray to the goddess Bridgit was by tossing coins or precious stones into a well or lake."

"Oh." Sydney smiled and leaned her head against the headrest. "So, what'd you wish for?"

He grinned and shook his head. "I didn't. I was just saying good-bye."

***

"Well, I'm confused..." Doctor James informed Sydney, frowning at the test results.

"You almost sound disappointed that I'm not dying anymore."

"No, it's not that, it's just that... when a cancer goes into remission, there are still usually signs that it's there. This path report is so clean that you might never have been sick at all." He shrugged and rose.

"Did you know," Sydney asked with a grin, "that the ancient Egyptians used to believe that the gods frequently appeared on earth in human form?"

He shook his head. "I'm not sure what that has to do with anything, Professor Fox."

"No, of course you don't." Sydney shrugged. "It doesn't matter. Have a nice day, Doctor." Grinning, she rose and left the office without looking back.

***

"Oh, hey, Nigel." Karen grinned at him as he entered the office. "How was Ireland?"

"Um... interesting." Nigel smiled. By mutual consent, he and Sydney had agreed not to discuss the specifics of the trip with anyone at all, including Karen.

Karen rose and began getting ready to leave. "Good. You, uh, find what you were looking for?"

"You could say that."

"Uh-huh." Karen eyed him dubiously. "What's with the crutches?"

"Broke my ankle."

"Oh, bummer!" Karen smiled sympathetically. "Um, anyway, Syd wanted to talk to you as soon as you got back. I was going to leave you a note."

Nigel nodded and removed his coat. "Thanks. She in her office?"

Karen nodded. "See you tomorrow."

Nigel smiled and nodded. "Yeah, Karen. I'll see you then." When she had left, he knocked on Sydney's door.

"Come in, Karen!" she called.

He entered. "Not Karen."

She sat at her desk with her feet up, reading something. She was looking better than she had in ages, except for a nasty bruise on her left upper arm. She looked up, startled. "Oh, hey, Nigel. Feeling better?"

He nodded. "Still a bit sore, but... fine." He smiled. "How... how are you doing?"

"I'm good. Come in and close the door, please."

"Sure." Nigel nodded and entered, closing the door behind him. 

"How's the ankle?"

He glanced down at it. "Still broken. Wish the Cauldron could have fixed that." He smiled at her. "So, what's up, Syd?"

"I wanted to talk to you about what happened in the cave."

He frowned uncertainly. "Syd, I'm not entirely sure that what I think happened in the cave happened in the cave... I mean... could it have?"

She rose and approached him. "I really think it did, Nigel. I, um... I told you that when we got back I would tell you what had been going on with me."

He nodded slowly. "Syd, I didn't mean to pressure you, you know. You're entitled to your privacy, so if you don't want to tell me something, it's really none of my business."

"About three weeks before we left, I was diagnosed with leukemia."

"Oh my God, Syd!" Without thinking, Nigel pulled her into a hug. "I'm so sorry..." He paused, realized what he was doing, and let her go. "Sorry..." he muttered, blushing. "But... are you... is it... _treatable_?"

"When I got back, it was gone, Nigel."

"_Gone?_ You mean... _gone?_"

She nodded. "As in 'no sign it ever happened' gone. Gone." She shrugged.

He frowned in confusion. "How is that possible?"

"You tell me. I think that I might have been dead when it went away."

"You think the Cauldron cured you?" Nigel asked uncertainly.

She nodded. "That's what I think, but I don't think it did it by itself."

He shook his head. "Um, now I'm really confused."

"Bridgit said that _you_ had to be willing to make a sacrifice. I want to know about that?"

"There's nothing to tell." He shrugged uneasily. "Just... that the Cauldron would only work if someone else was willing to make a sacrifice for the person they were trying to save."

"That's... interesting. See, I've been doing some reading, Nigel..."

"Reading?" he asked slowly.

"Uh-huh. About the Cauldron, and there's nothing about human sacrifice in _any_ of the texts I've looked at."

"Well, it wasn't a human sacrifice, per se..." Nigel pointed out. 

"Nothing at all about human sacrifices," Sydney repeated quietly "but quite a bit about 'acts of love', Nigel." She stared at him. "I was hoping that you might be able to shed some light on the subject."

"In what way?" he asked cautiously.

"Well, you talked to Bridgit after I died. I thought she might have said something."

He shook his head. "Not really. Something about a wellspring." He shrugged.

"Huh." Sydney frowned and shrugged. "Just a thought. I don't remember anything after I... _died_." She smiled at having to apply the word to herself. "What happened, Nigel?"

"Um... Bridgit revealed herself as a goddess and told me that the only way to save you was to take you into the Cauldron."

"What about the sacrifice thing?"

"Oh, that. Um... I had to be willing to make a sacrifice to bring you back."

"What kind of sacrifice, Nigel?" Sydney rested her hand on his shoulder gently. "You keep skirting around that question when I ask it. What did you have to do?"

"I... I thought that I would have to be killed."

"You thought that bringing me back would kill you and you did it anyway?" Sydney asked in a whisper. "Nigel that's... that's..." She swallowed hard, her eyes widening. "Very sweet."

He blushed and bowed his head. "I imagine you would have done the same for me. Besides, it... it would have been worth it." He shrugged.

Sydney stared at him. "Nigel, that's... that's the nicest thing a man has ever said to me."

"Well, it happens to be true." Nigel shrugged. "I should... go. I have a lot of work to catch up on." He turned to leave.

"Nigel?" Sydney called.

"Yeah, Syd?"

"You said something about a wellspring, right?"

He nodded. "Yeah, but I'm not sure what it meant."

Sydney, who had had the pictures of the inscriptions translated independently and knew perfectly well that it referred to love, smiled at him as he started to leave. She walked with him to the door. "Hey, thanks, Nigel. I mean it."

He smiled shyly back. "You're welcome, Syd." 

Before he could change his mind, he quickly kissed her on the cheek before turning and hobbling out of the office as fast as his crutches would take him. His face was burning as he fled, but it would have pleased him to known that, standing at her office door stunned, Sydney's face was almost as red as his own.

**The End (So, how was it? Should I bother to write more?)**


End file.
